British Council names Michael Jackson as one of the Greatest Moments of the past 80 years
there is also NO Beatles and Elvis on the list 
Michael Jackson is the only entertainer who made the list
The British Council is celebrating its 80th anniversary
Originally called the ‘British Committee for Relations with Other Countries’, the British Council was founded in 1934. Our first overseas offices opened in 1938.
To mark 80 years of cultural relations, we have taken the opportunity
to look back and consider significant changes
that have taken place during the period of our organisation’s existence.
We asked a panel of 25 eminent scientists, technologists, academics, artists, writers, broadcasters and world leaders to choose their most significant moments of the past 80 years. We then asked 10,000 people around the world to vote to rank the final list.
The result? A
list of 80 thought-provoking moments that provide a snapshot of trends, people and innovations that have shaped the world we live in today.
Quote:
#49
The influence of the life and music of the American singer Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
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80
The work and influence of the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch, 1940-2009
79
The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapping the German parliament building (the Reichstag) in fabric in 1995
78
The continuing influence throughout the 20th century of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen
77
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, first staged in 1953
76
The influence of the New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) group of French filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s
75
The founding and lasting influence of Amnesty International
Now the world’s largest grass-roots human rights organisation with over three million members, Amnesty International exposes abuses around the world and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.
74
The work and influence of the American artist Andy Warhol, 1928-1987
73
The achievements and influence of Norwegian athlete Grete Waitz, who won nine consecutive New York Marathons between 1978-88
72
The protest song ‘We Shall Overcome’, popularised by the American folksinger Pete Seeger in 1963
An anthem of the African-American civil rights movement with strong emotional appeal and simple dignity, the song has been sung at rallies and protests worldwide.
71
The work and influence of the artist Pablo Picasso,1881-1973
70
The achievements and influence of the champion boxer Muhammad Ali, born 1942
69
The development of the shipping container
Few items of vast importance are given as little attention as the shipping container. Yet a lot of the things we own and use — from the TV in the living room to fresh flowers on the table — have spent time in one. Find out how this humble box made it to number 69.
68
The achievements of the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming
67
The work and influence of the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa,1910-1998
66
The black American athlete Jesse Owens, who won 4 gold medals at the1936 Olympics in Berlin
65
Discovery of the fossil ‘Australopithecus sediba’ in 2008 in South Africa – a human species thought to be 2 million years old
64
The adoption of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the international community
63
The invention of the instant noodle, produced and first marketed in 1958
Dreamt up by Taiwan-born Momofuku Ando in Japan in 1958, the instant noodle created a cheap and speedy new food culture. In 2013, 105 billion packets were sold.
62
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader who became an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991
61
The creation in 1970 of the Open University in the UK, the world’s first successful ‘distance teaching’ university
60
The first successful cloning of a mammal from an adult sheep’s cell, in 1996
59
George Orwell’s novel 1984, published in 1949
58
The establishment of the Paralympic Games, first held in Rome in 1960
57
The designation of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, which began in 1972
56
The growth of low-cost air travel
55
The impact of South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995
54
The Gulf War, 1990-91, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
53
The influence of Walt Disney (1901-1966) on cinema and popular culture
52
The move towards greater equality in many parts of the world for gay and lesbian people
The gay rights movement of the 1970s paved the way for anti discrimination efforts in the workplace, same-sex marriage, and a new era of gay visibility and pride. Even so, homosexuality remains illegal in many countries.
51
The ‘Bretton Woods Agreement’ of 1944 which led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the system of floating foreign exchange rates
50
The Live Aid Concerts in 1985 and 2005 for famine relief and action against poverty
.
49
The influence of the life and music of the American singer Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
48
The assassination of US President Kennedy in 1963
47
The creation of Wikipedia in 2001
For many people, this online reference source is now synonymous with ‘encyclopaedia’. Lyn Robinson, from the Centre for Information Science at City University London, reflects on the impact of this internet phenomenon.
46
The 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean which brought devastation to many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond
45
The global popularity of football and the football World Cup
44
The creation of the European Union and the process of integration which followed
43
The Long March (October 1934-October 1935) which began the ascent to power of Mao Tse-Tung and the Chinese Communist Party
42
The invention of the digital camera
41
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 which deposed the government of Saddam Hussein
40
China’s hosting of the 2008 Olympics
39
The invention of the CT scanner, 1972
38
The development of open source software and open licensing, where computer source code is made available to the public with relaxed or non-existent copyright restrictions
37
The Cold War, from the 1940s to the 1990s
36
independence of countries that were colonies of European powers
35
The invention of the laser in 1960 and its influence on technology
34
The invention of the credit card in 1950
33
The series of popular protests and uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, beginning in 2010, known as the ‘Arab Spring’
32
The eradication of smallpox in 1980
31
The emergence of HIV/ AIDS in the early 1980s
Since it was first identified in 1981, AIDS has caused some 36 million deaths, and a similar number live with HIV globally. The development of antiretroviral drugs has helped sufferers manage the condition, but not everyone can access them.
30
The US civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King’s speech ‘I have a dream…’ of August 1963
29
The influence and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to independence and inspired civil rights movements across the world, 1869-1948
28
The creation of the state of Israel, 1948
27
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, leading to the reunification of Germany in 1990
26
The invention and widespread use of email
.
25
The development of nanotechnology
24
The first public television service in 1936
23
Space exploration including the achievements of Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space (1961) and the Apollo 11 moon landing (1969)
22
The invention of the birth control pill
21
The discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953
20
The work and influence of the physicist Albert Einstein, 1879-1955
19
The development of nuclear energy
18
The invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, marking the beginning of World War Two (WWII)
17
Deng Xiaoping and his ‘Open Door’ policy which from 1978 onwards started the economic transformation of China
16
The Human Genome Project, completed in 2001, which mapped the genetic structure of the human body
15
The development and widespread adoption of the mobile phone
14
The Holocaust in Nazi occupied Europe
13
Satellite technology and its impact on the way many people live globally
12
The growth and influence of social media
11
The spread of English as a global language
10
The move towards greater equality for women in many parts of the world
9
The invention of the atomic bomb and the explosion of atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August)
8
The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991
7
The influence of Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) on South African and international politics and society
6
The rise in global awareness of the importance of environmental protection/conservation
The terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 on New York (the World Trade Center) and Washington DC; and the emergence of terrorism as a major international phenomenon
4
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
3
The widespread availability of home computers
2
The discovery of a method of mass production of penicillin, 1943
1
The invention of the World Wide WebThe fastest-growing communications medium of all time, the internet has changed the shape of modern life forever. We can connect with each other instantly, all over the world
source
http://www.britishcouncil.org/80moments/
this is a British study in UK 
