Historical facts By NGG 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. 1901 Queen Victoria dies and is succeeded by King Edward VII. Period: 1914 to 1918 World War I takes place. 1929 The stock market crashes and the Great Depression begins. 1945 The United Nations is formed. 1947 India gains independence from British rule. 1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to journey into space. 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. 1973 The Vietnam War comes to an end.