550s BC
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In the year 550 bce
Biology
Anaximander of Miletus [b. Miletus (Turkey), 610 bce, d. Miletus c. 546 bce], in On Nature, introduces the concept of evolution and speculates that animal life began in the oceans -- ideas forgotten for centuries. See also 530 bce Earth science.
CommunicationAnaximander draws up the first known map of the entire inhabited Earth -- actually only the part known to the Ionians around this time. He puts the map on a cylinder to reflect the curvature of Earth. See also 500 bce Communication.
ToolsAccording to tradition, Anaximander invents the first sundial. In fact, simple sundials existed earlier in Mesopotamia and Egypt, but probably Anaximander invented a form of astrolabe or sundial that could be corrected for changes in the season. See also 1500 bce Tools.
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550s BC
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
| Millennium: | 1st millennium BC |
| Centuries: | 7th century BC – 6th century BC – 5th century BC |
| Decades: | 580s BC 570s BC 560s BC – 550s BC – 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC |
| Years: | 559 BC 558 BC 557 BC 556 BC 555 BC 554 BC 553 BC 552 BC 551 BC 550 BC |
| Categories: | Births – Deaths – Architecture Establishments – Disestablishments |
Events and trends
- Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.
- 559 BC—King Cambyses I of Anshan dies and is succeeded by his son Cyrus II the Great.
- 558 BC—Hegesias is removed as Archon of Athens.
- 558 BC—The Chinese state of Jin defeats its rival Qin in battle.
- 556 BC—Pisistratus is exiled from Athens to Euboea.
- 556 BC—Labashi-Marduk succeeds Neriglissar as king of Babylon.
- 556 BC—Nabonidus succeeds Labashi-Marduk as king of Babylon.
- c. 550 BC—Colonisation of Greeks ends.
- 550 BC—Abdera is destroyed by the Thracians.
- 550 BC—The Temple of Artemis completed in Ephesus.
- 550 BC—Cyrus II the Great overthrows Astyages of the Medes, establishing the Persian Empire.
- c. 550 BC—Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, is built.
- 550 BC—Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism in Northern India after achieving enlightenment after six years of practicing penance and meditation.
Significant people
- 556 BC — Rule of Labashi-Marduk as king of Babylon
- 556 BC — Rule of Nabonidus as king of Babylon
- 558 BC—Death of Solon, Athenian, Statesman, Poet.
- c. 556 BC—Birth of Simonides of Ceos.
- 555 BC—Death of Stesichorus, Greek lyric poet..
- September 28, 551 BC—Birth of Confucius, philosopher (traditional date).
- c. 551 BC—Commonly accepted date of the Death of Zoroaster, Founder of Zoroastrianism.
- 550 BC—Birth of Epicharmus, Greek poet (d. 460 BC).
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Houghton Mifflin Guide to Science & Technology
History of Science and Technology, edited by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans. Copyright © 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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