| A | B |
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| Abbassid Dynasty | (750 - 1258) Ruling family of the Islamic Empire during its golden age. This dynasty is responsible for many achievements |
| agriculture | The cultivating of land, producing of crops, and raising of livestock for human consumption. |
| AIDS | Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV retrovirus. |
| algebra | A branch of mathematics pioneered by Islamic mathematician al-Khwarizimi in which letters are used to represent unknown numbers to generalize arithmetic. |
| al-Khwarizimi | Islamic mathematician who pioneered the study of algebra. His textbook on the subject became a standard in European universities for centuries. |
| antibiotics | A substance that kills bacteria in the human body. It is used to prevent or treat various illnesses. |
| antiseptic | An agent that helps prevent or reduce infection in wounds. |
| arch | A curved structure that shapes the edge of an open space, such as, a doorway, a window. |
| architect | A person who designs buildings. |
| artisan | A person who is skilled at a craft, such as weaving, or woodcarving. |
| astrolabe | A device used to determine latitude by observing the altitude and position of the sun or other start or planet. |
| astronomer | A person who specializes in the study of astronomical bodies. |
| Baron de Montesquieu | (1689-1755) Enlightenment thinker from France who wrote a book called, The Spirit of the Laws in 1748. In his book, Montesquieu describes what he considers to be the best government. He states that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branch. Montesquieu explained that under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others, which would help protect the people's liberty. |
| BCE | Date designation meaning Before Common Era, or more than two thousand years ago. |
| Bell, Alexander Graham | (1847-1922) American inventor of the telephone. |
| Bessemer, Sir Henry | (1813-98) Inventor who developed a more cost efficient process for making steel. |
| botany | The study of plant life. |
| calendar | A system for keeping track of time. |
| cannon | : A weapon which uses an iron ball as a projectile and gunpowder as the blasting agent. |
| caravel | Portuguese ship that had a large cargo area and used two orthree masts. |
| cartography | The skill of making maps |
| Cavalry | Mounted warriors |
| chemistry | The science dealing with the structure, composition, properties, and reactive characteristics of substances. |
| civilization | A society that has a high level of culture and social organization including organized government, job specialization, and a organized belief system. |
| Cold War | Non shooting conflict between the Soviet Union and their allies and the United States and their allies. Numerous secondary conflicts arise due to the Cold War. |
| Computer Revolution | During the 1980s personal computers began to appear in many homes across the world. By the late 1990s, computers had become a staple in most industrialized country’s homes. |
| cuneiform | One of the earliest forms of writing. It consisted of wedge shaped symbols usually imprinted in clay. Used throughout ancient Mesopotamia. |
| Curie, Marie | (1867-1934) French scientist. She is best known for his work with her husband Pierre in the field of radioactivity. |
| Curie, Pierre | (1859-1906) French scientist. He is best known for his work with his wife Marie in the field of radioactivity. |
| Da Vinci, Leonardo | (1452-1519) An Italian painter, sculptor, engineer, and inventor. Famous works include paintings Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Also left a variety of sketches showing flying machines and underwater boats centuries before the invention of planes and submarines. |
| Daimler, Gottlieb | (1834-1900) German inventor. He is best know for his work in the development of the gasoline internal combustion engine. |
| deforestation | The widespread destruction of the world's forests. One of the largest areas of destruction are the tropical rainforests. These forest are cut down for the hardwood lumber, to clear space for farming, for building settlements, and for grazing animals. land bridge |
| dome | A hemispherical roof. |
| domesticate | To tame an animal to live with, or close to humans |
| dyke | A drainage ditch used to help control flooding. |
| Ebola | A contagious viral disease originating in Africa. It is transmitted by blood and body fluids and causes body organs and vessels to leak blood, usually resulting in death. |
| Edison, Thomas Alva | (1847-1931) American inventor. He is best know for the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. |
| Einstein, Albert | (1879-1955) American scientist best known for his theory of relativity. |
| engineer | A person who plans and creates mechanic structures for a variety of uses. |
| factory | A central location where goods are manufactured on a large scale. |
| fertilizers | A substance spread onto soil to increase its ability to support crops. Fertilizers include organic materials, such as manure, but can also be man made chemicals such as nitrates. |
| Fleming, Alexander | (1881-1955) English scientist who, in 1928, observed that a mold called Penicillium killed germs. This discovery resulted in the development of antibiotics, which attack or weaken bacteria that cause many diseases. Antibiotics were not widely used until the 1940s. |
| Ford, Henry | (1863-1947) American Industrialist. Ford is best know for his innovations in the auto manufacturing industry. His company was the first to use an assembly line for production. |
| fundamental | Affecting the underlying principles or structure of something. |
| genetic engineering | The process of altering life forms by manipulating their genetic structure. |
| golden age | A time in a culture of high achievement in arts, literature, and science. Generally occurs in times of peace. |
| Greek column | Fluted column used in many of their buildings, and copied throughout the world today. |
| Green Revolution | Throughout the 20th century, scientists worked on improving agriculture, especially in areas with high populations. Some of the technologies developed included better irrigation systems so farmers could get water to their crops. New machinery was built to handle larger production and to take the burden of agriculture work off of humans. New chemical fertilizers and pesticides were created to increase food production, and new varieties of grains and livestock were developed also for greater production. The Green Revolution has had only limited success. The high costs associated with many of these new technologies have kept the small farmer from taking advantage of them. |
| greenhouse gas | A gas such as carbon dioxide, ozone, or water vapor that are a factoring the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere. |
| gunpowder | Chemical compound that burns very quickly. Used in weaponry |
| Hellenistic | Time period from the late 4th century BCE to the 1st century CE that was characterized by Greek achievement and a blending of Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Indian cultures due to the empire of Alexander the Great. |
| hieroglyphics | A system of writing which uses pictures for concepts and ideas. |
| Hippocratic Oath | An promise made new physicians to treat all people fairly, and to seek to preserve life. Named after a ancient Greek physician who is credited with writing it. |
| Hiroshima | Japanese city devastated during World War II when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Aug 6th, 1945. |
| Hubble Space Telescope | Large space telescope able to see farther than any other telescope at the end of the 20th century. |
| Ibn Sina | Islamic physician, wrote a book called Canon on Medicine, which was an encyclopedia of Greek, Arabic, and his own knowledge of medicine. This book became the standard medical text in Europe for over five hundred years. |
| idealized realism | Art form practiced by the Greeks during the 5th century BCE. Portrays the human form very realistically, but in its perfect form. |
| ideographs | Writing system that uses pictures of ideas. |
| industrialization | The change to industrial methods of production such as the use of factories. |
| information superhighway | Term given to the Internet due to the amount of information transferred. |
| Internet | A global network of computers that communicate through phone and satellites. The Internet has services such as the World Wide Web and e-mail. |
| irrigation | A system to bring water to support crops. |
| Islam | The word Islam, which when translated from Arabic, means "to submit to the will of Allah," is the youngest of the world's major religions. Worshippers of this monotheistic religion are known as Muslims, which means "one who submits to the will of Allah." The Islamic holy book is called the Qur’an. Islam is currently the second most practiced religion in the world, and experts predict that it will overtake Christianity as the most popular religion in the world sometime during the 21st century. |
| King Leopold | (1835-1909) King of Belgium who began imperialistic trade inside of Africa which resulted in the Scramble for Africa. |
| Koch, Robert | (1843-1910) German physician who, in the 1880’s, discovered that bacteria caused tuberculosis. |
| The Last Supper | A famous Renaissance painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. |
| Lister, Joseph | (1827-1912) English surgeon who discovered that germs cause post operative infections. He then insisted doctors use antiseptics, substances that kill germs, on their hands and instruments before surgery. This process greatly reduced the number of deaths caused by infection after surgery. |
| Mao Zedong | (1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People’s Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976. |
| Marx, Karl | (1818-1883), German political philosopher and writer. Coauthor with Friedrich Engels of The Communist Manifesto which described the new philosophy of scientific socialism, which is the basis for modern communism. |
| mass production | The manufacturing of products on a large scale, usually through the use of machines. |
| Mazzini, Guiseppe | (1805-1872), Nationalistic leader in Italy, who started a group called Young Italy in 1831. Young Italy was a nationalistic movement that wanted to end foreign control of Italy. |
| Michelangelo | (1475-1564) An Italian sculptor, painter, poet, engineer, and architect. Famous works include the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the sculpture of the biblical character David. |
| military | The armed forces of a nation. |
| Mona Lisa | A famous Renaissance painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. |
| mummification | The process of preserving a corpse by removing the moisture from it before burial. This process was practiced by many different cultures. |
| musket | Handheld weapon that uses small balls of lead as projectiles and gunpowder as the blasting agent. |
| Nagasaki | Japanese city devastated during World War II when the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on Aug 8th, 1945. |
| NASA / National Aeronautical and Space Administration | American space agency responsible for administrating the United State’s space program. |
| Neolithic Age | (10,000 BCE - 5000 BCE) New Stone Age. A period of time in human history characterized by the development of agriculture and permanent settlements. |
| Neolithic Revolution | (10,000 - 8,000 BCE) The development of agriculture and the domestication of animals as a food source. This led to the development of permanent settlements and the start of civilization. |
| Newcomen, Thomas | 1663-1729) Developed a steam engine powered by coal. |
| nuclear weapons | Weapons in which the explosive potential is controlled by nuclear fission or fusion. |
| Pahlavi, Muhammad Reza | (1919-1980), Dictator ruler of Iran from 1941 to 1979. He was supported by the United States throughout most of the Cold War due to his anti communist stance. Overthrown during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. |
| Pantheon | A domed temple in Rome that was completed in 27 BCE, and still stands today. |
| Parthenon | A large temple dedicated to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built in the 5th century BCE, during the Athenian golden age. |
| Pasteur, Louis | (1822-1895) French scientist who discovered the link between germs and disease. He also showed that killing germs, often prevented the spread of certain diseases. |
| pesticides | Chemicals used to destroy insects and other pests. |
| pictographs | Writing system that uses drawings of objects |
| power loom | A device that combined thread to make cloth using steam power. |
| Renaissance | A rebirth of cultural and intellectual pursuits after the stagnation of the Middle Ages. This period in European history, from about the 14th through 16th centuries, features major cultural and artistic change. |
| revolution | a dramatic change in ideas, practice, or government. |
| sanitation | Services including the collection and disposal of sewage and garbage. |
| satellite | Man made objects that orbit the Earth or perform deep space probes. The perform a number of functions such as communications and weather. |
| scholar | A person who posesses a great deal of knowledge, usually an academic who specializes in a particular subject area. |
| Scientific Method | Uses observation and experimentation to explain theories on the workings of the universe. |
| Scientific Revolution | An offshoot of the Renaissance in which scientists questioned traditional beliefs about the workings of the universe. One of the main ideas to come out of the Scientific Revolution was the use of the Scientific Method. The Scientific Method uses observation and experimentation to explain theories on how the universe works. |
| sculptor | An artist who creates three-dimensional works of art, usually in stone or clay. |
| seed drill | Machine designed by Jethro Tull which mechanically planted seeds. |
| Sistine Chapel | A Catholic church in Vatican City, Italy. Its ceiling was painted by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo. |
| smallpox | A highly contagious disease. Symptoms include high fever and scar-producing blisters. It can be fatal. |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) | Formed in 1922 from most of the former Russian Empire. The Soviet Union was controlled by the Communist Party headquarter in Moscow, Russia. The Soviet Union was a world superpower along with the United States, and was one of the two major antagonist during the Cold War. |
| Space Race | Term given to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War to advance their space programs. |
| Space Shuttle | A reusable space vehicle built by the United States. |
| spinning jenny | A device used to make thread |
| Sputnik | Soviet satellite put into orbit around Earth in 1957. It was the first man made satellite put into orbit. |
| surgery | The medical treatment of a body which involves cutting open to perform various manipulations. |
| technology | A society's practical knowledge, especially with reference to its material culture and modes of production. |
| telescope | A device used to see distant objects, such as those in space. |
| Theory of Relativity | Theory of motion and energy developed by Albert Einstein in the 20th century. |
| Tull, Jethro | (1674-1741) British farmer and inventor, created the mechanical seed drill to aid in planting. |
| urbanization | The movement of people to urban areas in search of work. |
| Watt, James | (1736-1819) Improved upon Newcomen’s steam engine. Watt’s steam engine would be the power source of the Industrial Revolution. |
| World War I | (1914 – 1918) European war in which an alliance including Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United States defeated the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. |
| World War II | (1939 – 1945) A war fought in Europe, Africa and Asia between the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States against the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. |
| Wright, Orville | (1871–1948) American inventor. He is best know for his work with his brother Wilbur in the development of the airplane. |
| Wright, Wilbur | (1867-1912) American inventor. He is best know for his work with his brother Orville in the development of the airplane. |
| zoology | The biological study of animals |
