How Old is Your Globe?

Unlike many antiques, estimating the date of globes can be quite precise due to the discoveries, political names, and border changes depicted in globes. Below is a guide with key geopolitical dates for globe age estimation:

1816 ARGENTINA INDEPENDENT.
1817 NEW HOLLAND BECOMES AUSTRALIA.
1818 CHILE INDEPENDENT.
1819 UNITED STATES PURCHASES FLORIDA FROM SPAIN.
1821 PERU INDEPENDENT.
1822 BRAZIL INDEPENDENT.
1825-1838 CENTRAL AMERICAN FEDERATION, CONSISTING OF COSTA RICA, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS AND NICARAGUA.
1830 BELGIUM GAINS INDEPENDENCE FROM THE NETHERLANDS.
1831 DISCOVERY OF ENDRBY’S LAND IN ANTARCTIC.
1845 TEXAS AND FLORIDA BECOME PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
1846 VAN DIEMAN’S LAND BECOMES TASMANIA.
1848 KILIMANJARO DISCOVERED.
1849 MOUNT KENAI AND NGAMI LAKE DISCOVERED.
1850 CALIFORNIA BECOMES PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
1854 ORANGE STAAT INDEPENDENT.
1855 VICTORIA FALLS DISCOVERED.
1856 LAKE TANGANYIKA DISCOVERED.
1857 LAKE VICTORIA DISCOVERED.
1859 LOMBARDI BECOMES SARDINIA.
1860 TRANSVAAL REPUBLIC ESTABLISHED.
1861 MOLDAVIA AND WALACHIA MERGE TO BECOME ROMANIA.
1864 LAKE ALBERT IN DISCOVERED.
1866 VENICE AND VENEZIA CHANGE FROM BEING AUSTRIAN TO ITALIAN.
1867 ALASKA SOLD BY RUSSIA TO THE UNITED STATES.
1868 AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE ESTABLISHED.
1869 SUEZ CANAL COMPLETED.
1872 PESTH CHANGES TO BUDAPEST.
1872 FRANZ JOSEPH LAND ESTABLISHED.
1875 INDEPENDENCE OF GREECE.
1876 LAKE EDWARD DISCOVERED TO BE A SEPARATE ENTITY FROM LAKE ALBERT.
1877 INDIA BECOMES AN EMPIRE.
1878 SERBIA, MONTENEGRO AND ROMANIA INDEPENDENT.
1883 BOLIVIA LOOSES ITS ACCESS TO THE OCEAN (PROVINCE ATACAMA).
1884/5 GERMAN COLONIES IN AFRICA ESTABLISHED.
1885 CONGO FREE STATE ESTABLISHED.
1888 LAKE RUDOLPH DISCOVERED.
1889 DAKOTA (UNITED STATES) DIVIDED INTO NORTH AND SOUTH.
1890 INDIAN TERRITORY ESTABLISHED IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA.
1895 RHODESIA REPLACES NDEBELE TERRITORY OF ZIMBABWE.
1896 ABYSSINIA INDEPENDENT.
1897 HAITI BECOMES PROTECTORATE OF THE UNITED STATES.
1898 CUBA, PHILIPPINES AND PUERTO RICO BECOME PROTECTORATES OF THE UNITED STATES.
1900 COOK ISLANDS ANNEXED BY NEW ZEALAND.
1901 CUBA INDEPENDENT.
1902 ORANGE FREE STATE ESTABLISHED
1903 PANAMA INDEPENDENT
1905 END OF THE SWEDISH-NORWEGIAN UNION (NORWAY INDEPENDENT). SAKHALIN ISLAND DIVIDED BETWEEN JAPAN AND RUSSIA (ASIA).
1907 INDIAN TERRITORY NO LONGER VISIBLE IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA. ITALIAN SOMALILAND ESTABLISHED.
1908 BULGARIA INDEPENDENT. CONGO FREE STATE BECOMES BELGIAN CONGO.
1909 CANBERRA BECOMES CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA
1910 UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA ESTABLISHED.
1911 RHODESIA DIVIDED INTO NORTH AND SOUTH. MOROCCO BECOMES A FRENCH COLONY.
1912 ALBANIA INDEPENDENT, ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO BECOME PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
1913 OTTOMAN EMPIRE CEASES TO EXIST.
1914 OPENING OF THE PANAMA CANAL.
1914-18 WORLD WAR I.
1914-24 ST. PETERSBURG RENAMED PETROGRAD, THEREAFTER LENINGRAD, UNTIL ITS ORIGINAL NAME IS RESTORED IN 1991.
1917 FINLAND INDEPENDENT.
1918 AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE CEASES TO EXIST. AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, POLAND, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, YUGOSLAVIA AND MORE EMERGE AS NEW COUNTRIES.
1919 TREATY OF VERSAILLES. AFGHANISTAN INDEPENDENT.
1920 BRITISH EAST AFRICA BECOMES KENYA. PALESTINE BECOMES BRITISH MANDATE. ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA INDEPENDENT.
1922 RUSSIA CHANGES TO SOVIET UNION. EGYPTIAN INDEPENDENT.
1923 TURKEY INDEPENDENT. TANNU-TUVA INDEPENDENT. PALESTINE ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT FROM TRANSJORDAN.
1924 PETROGRAD CHANGES TO LENINGRAD. CHRISTIANA (NORWAY) RENAMED OSLO.
1926 RUSSIA NOW IDENTIFIED AS USSR.
1928 PEIPING BECOMES PEKING
1930 CONSTANTINOPLE BECOMES ISTANBUL.
1931 JAPAN INVADES MANCHURIA AND RENAMES IT MANCHUKUO..
1932 SAUDI ARABIA, IRAQ INDEPENDENT.
1933 NAZI'S COME TO POWER IN GERMANY
1934 ITALIAN EAST AFRICA CREATED BY SOMALI, ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA.
1935 PERSIA BECOMES IRAN
1936-41 ETHIOPIA OCCUPIED BY ITALY, RENAMED ITALIAN EAST AFRICA.
1937 BURMA SEPARATES FROM INDIA.
1938 GERMANY ANNEXES AUSTRIA. BOLIVIA LOSES GRAN CHACO TO PARAGUAY.
1939-45 WORLD WAR II.
1939 BOHEMIA (CURRENTLY CZECH REPUBLIC) OCCUPIED BY GERMANY. SLOVAKIA INDEPENDENT. FRANCE RETURNS HATAY TO TURKEY.
1940 ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA ARE ANNEXED BY SOVIET UNION.
1942 ECUADOR LOSES ORIENTE TO PERU.
1944 LEBANON INDEPENDENT. TANNU-TUVA ANNEXED BY SOVIET UNION.
1945 END OF WORLD WAR II.
1946 PHILIPPINES INDEPENDENT.
1947 INDIA INDEPENDENT. EAST AND WEST PAKISTAN CREATED.
1948 ISRAEL ESTABLISHED. REPUBLIC OF IRELAND INDEPENDENT. CEYLON AND BURMA BECOME INDEPENDENT.
1949 NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR JOIN CANADA.
1951 LIBYA INDEPENDENT.
1953-63 CENTRAL AFRICAN FEDERATION.
1953 KOREA DIVIDED INTO NORTH AND SOUTH.
1954 FRENCH INDO-CHINA BECOMES VIETNAM, LAOS AND CAMBODIA.
1956 MOROCCO, TUNISIA AND SUDAN INDEPENDENT.
1957 GOLD COAST BECOMES GHANA. MALAY STATES BECOME MALAYSIA.
1958-61 EGYPT AND SYRIA UNITED AS UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC.
1960 FRENCH WEST AFRICA, FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA, BELGIAN CONGO AND OTHER AFRICAN COLONIES CEASE TO EXIST, CREATING OVER 15 INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES, INCLUDING NIGER, CHAD, SOMALIA, CONGO, NIGERIA. ZAIRE.
1961 SIERRA LEONE, TANZANIA (TANGANYIKA) INDEPENDENT. KUWAIT INDEPENDENT.
1962 UGANDA, ALGERIA, JAMAICA, TRINIDAD, TOBAGO INDEPENDENT.
1963 KENYA INDEPENDENT.
1964 FEDERATION OF RHODESIA AND NYASALAND DISSOLVE AND BECOME MALAWI AND ZAMBIA. TANGANYIKA AND ZANZIBAR MERGE TO FORM TANZANIA. MALTA INDEPENDENT.
1965 RHODESIA AND SINGAPORE INDEPENDENT.
1966 BOTSWANA, GAMBIA, AND LESOTHO INDEPENDENT.
1967 FRENCH SOMALILAND CHANGES TO AFARS & ISSAS
1968 EQUATORIAL GUINEA, MAURITIUS AND SWAZILAND INDEPENDENT.
1970 MUSCAT AND OMAN MERGE TO BECOME OMAN. FIGI AND TONGA INDEPENDENT.
1971 BAHRAIN INDEPENDENT. CONGO BECOMES ZAIRE.
1972 CEYLON BECOMES SRI LANKA.
1973 BAHAMAS INDEPENDENT.
1974 GUINEA-BISSAU AND GRANADA INDEPENDENT.
1975 ANGOLA AND MOZAMBIQUE INDEPENDENT.
1976 VIETNAM UNIFIES.
1977 DJIBOUTI INDEPENDENT.
1978 DOMINICA INDEPENDENT.
1979 SOUTHERN RHODESIA BECOMES ZIMBABWE.
1981 BELIZE INDEPENDENT.
1984 UPPER VOLTA BECOMES BURKINA FASO.
1986 IVORY COAST BECOMES CÔTE D’IVOIRE.
1989 BURMA BECOMES MYANMAR.
1990 – EAST AND WEST GERMANY REUNITE. NORTH AND SOUTH YEMEN MERGE INTO ONE COUNTRY. YEMEN AND NAIBIA INDEPENDENT.
1991 SOVIET UNION DISSOLVES. FIFTEEN COUNTRIES BECOME INDEPENDENT: ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BELARUS, ESTONIA, GEORGIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, MOLDOVA, RUSSIA, TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, UKRAINE, UZBEKISTAN.
1992 YUGOSLAVIA DISSOLVES INTO FIVE NEW COUNTRIES: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA, MACEDONIA, SLOVENIA, YUGOSLAVIA.
1993 CZECHOSLOVAKIA DIVIDES INTO CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA.
1993 ERITREA INDEPENDENT.
1994 PALAU INDEPENDENT. WALVIS BAY BECOMES PART OF NAMIBIA.
1997 ZAIRE BECOMES DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. HONG KONG POSSESSION TRANSFERS FROM UNITED KINGDOM TO HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF CHINA.
1998 NUNAVUT TERRITORY CREATED FROM PART OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (CANADA).
1999 MACAU TRANSFERRED FROM PORTUGAL TO CHINA.
2002 EAST TIMOR INDEPENDENT.
2003 YUGOSLAVIA DIVIDES INTO SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO.
2011 SOUTH SUDAN INDEPENDENT.

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