Modern world map

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 2026 and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

Meet figures alive in, or close to, 2026 and move from political geography to the people connected to the period.

Era-based reading

The related chronicles below provide long-form reading tied closely to the contemporary period.

Ghana / New York

Kofi Annan

1938 – 2018

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, global advocate for human rights and development

United Kingdom

Margaret Thatcher

1925 – 2013

First female British Prime Minister, Falklands War, economic transformation of Britain

South Africa

Nelson Mandela

1918 – 2013

Anti-apartheid revolutionary, political prisoner for 27 years, first Black president of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

California

Steve Jobs

1955 – 2011

Co-founder of Apple, personal computer revolution, iPhone, Pixar, design-driven innovation

Kenya

Wangari Maathai

1940 – 2011

Green Belt Movement, Nobel Peace Prize, environmental and democratic activism

United States

Ronald Reagan

1911 – 2004

40th President of the United States, Cold War leadership, Reaganomics, transforming the conservative movement

Built 2012 · Asia

Hazrat Sultan Mosque

The largest mosque in Central Asia, located in Astana, Kazakhstan, blending traditional Islamic design with modern Kazakh architectural motifs

Built 2007 · Asia

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Abu Dhabi's grand white marble mosque accommodating over 40,000 worshippers, featuring the world's largest hand-knotted carpet and crystal chandeliers

Built 2001 · Asia

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Oman's principal mosque in Muscat, blending Islamic architectural traditions from across the Muslim world with locally quarried sandstone

Built 1996 · Asia

Cristo Rei of Dili

27-meter bronze statue of Christ atop Cape Fatucama in Dili, Timor-Leste, symbol of the nation's Catholic identity following independence

Built 1986 · Asia

Faisal Mosque

Islamabad's landmark mosque with a striking tent-shaped design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, one of the largest mosques in the world

Built 1986 · Africa

Hassan II Mosque

Mosque with the world's tallest minaret, partially built over the Atlantic Ocean in Casablanca

Ghana / New York · Leader

Kofi Annan

The Conscience of the World

The story of a quiet boy from Kumasi who became the moral voice of a fractured world — from the Gold Coast to the glass towers of the United Nations, from Rwanda’s killing fields to the Nobel stage in Oslo.

South Africa · Revolutionary

Nelson Mandela

The Long Walk to Freedom

The story of a Xhosa chief’s son who became the world’s most famous prisoner, endured twenty-seven years behind bars, and emerged to dismantle apartheid and lead a nation back from the brink of civil war.

United Kingdom · Leader

Margaret Thatcher

The Iron Lady

The grocer's daughter who broke every ceiling in British politics, defeated a military junta, stared down the Soviet Union, and remade the British economy in her own image.

California · Revolutionary

Steve Jobs

The Man Who Thought Different

The story of an adopted kid from Mountain View who built the most valuable company on earth, was fired from his own creation, and returned to reinvent the personal computer, the phone, and the way the world listens to music.