Thomas Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark’s expedition to search for a Northwest Passage to Asia. The expedition to the Pacific resulted in detailed environmental reports about the American West.
Increased international demand for rubber leads to destruction of forests in Amazon River basin.
The introduction of the rinderpest virus into Africa by Europeans decimates cattle and wildlife populations, leading to severe famines.
A series of tests called “Operation Crossroads” are the first nuclear tests conducted by the United States after the Second World War.
The Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains become Australia’s first landscape reservation.
The first North American smallpox epidemic occurs on the Canadian Great Plains and along the US West Coast.
