The Human Ascent

A sourced record of humanity's firsts and of how long states and governments endure.

39,044world-first records catalogued

2,137multi-sourced (2+ independent non-wiki sources)

4,856single-sourced

42states compared on two clocks

51long-lasting historical regimes

20contested country cases flagged

How long do states and governments last?

Two clocks per country: the age of the state, and the age of its current government measured from the last clear break. Longest dated state in the set: Japan (2,685 years, from 660 BCE, contested). Oldest current government: San Marino (425 years).

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World Firsts browser

Search 39,044 claimed firsts by text, country, era, year, category and sourcing status. Every record shows its sources, and flags where a source disputes the year or the "first" claim.

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Coverage is in progress: 23,651 records are still unsourced and 8,400 rest only on Wikipedia/Wikidata leads. See About & Method.