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The Great Pyramid of Giza, built around 2560 BC as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu, is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world (Wikimedia Commons)Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza, a giant statue with a lion's body and a human head, has guarded the pyramids for over 4,000 years (Wikimedia Commons)Great Sphinx of Giza
The Rosetta Stone helped experts finally learn to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs after it was found in 1799 (Wikimedia Commons)The Rosetta Stone
This solid gold mask covered the mummy of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, whose tomb was found nearly untouched in 1922 (Wikimedia Commons)Tutankhamun's Golden Mask
The Colosseum in Rome, finished around 80 AD, could hold about 50,000 spectators for public shows and games (Wikimedia Commons)The Colosseum
The Parthenon, a temple built in Athens in the 400s BC, shows the skill and style of ancient Greek builders (Wikimedia Commons)The Parthenon
The Great Wall of China stretches thousands of miles and was built over many centuries by different Chinese dynasties (Wikimedia Commons)Great Wall of China
Thousands of life-sized clay soldiers were buried near Xi'an, China, to guard the tomb of the first emperor (Wikimedia Commons)Terracotta Army
Qin Shi Huang became China's first emperor around 221 BC and ordered the building of a huge clay army to guard his tomb (Wikimedia Commons)Qin Shi Huang
The Ishtar Gate was one of eight gates into the ancient city of Babylon, covered in bright blue glazed bricks and animal images (Wikimedia Commons)Ishtar Gate of Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II ruled ancient Babylon and ordered grand building projects, including the famous Ishtar Gate (Wikimedia Commons)Nebuchadnezzar II
Machu Picchu, high in the Andes Mountains, was built by the Inca in the 1400s and stayed hidden from outsiders for centuries (Wikimedia Commons)Machu Picchu
The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza was built by the Maya and lines up with the sun in clever ways on certain days of the year (Wikimedia Commons)Pyramid of Kukulkan
Stonehenge in England is a circle of massive stones set up around 2500 BC, and people still study exactly how it was built (Wikimedia Commons)Stonehenge
Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, is a temple carved into rose-colored rock in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan (Wikimedia Commons)Petra's Treasury
The Taj Mahal in India was built in the 1600s by Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (Wikimedia Commons)Taj Mahal
Angkor Wat in Cambodia, built in the 1100s, is one of the largest ancient temple complexes ever constructed (Wikimedia Commons)Angkor Wat
The Forbidden City in Beijing was the home of Chinese emperors for almost 500 years, and ordinary people were once forbidden to enter (Wikimedia Commons)The Forbidden City
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was built in 537 AD and has been a cathedral, a mosque, and a museum over its long history (Wikimedia Commons)Hagia Sophia
The Alhambra is a stunning palace and fortress built by Muslim rulers in Granada, Spain, starting in the 1200s (Wikimedia Commons)The Alhambra
The Pantheon in Rome, completed around 126 AD, has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world and is still standing today (Wikimedia Commons)The Pantheon
The Acropolis is a hilltop citadel above Athens, Greece, crowned by ancient temples including the Parthenon (Wikimedia Commons)Acropolis of Athens
The Valley of the Kings in Egypt holds the tombs of many pharaohs, including the famous tomb of Tutankhamun (Wikimedia Commons)Valley of the Kings
The Great Ziggurat of Ur was a massive stepped temple built in ancient Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago (Wikimedia Commons)Ziggurat of Ur
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest known sets of written laws, carved into stone in ancient Babylon around 1750 BC (Wikimedia Commons)Code of Hammurabi
Mohenjo-daro was a huge, carefully planned city of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, built around 2500 BC (Wikimedia Commons)Mohenjo-daro
Julius Caesar was a powerful Roman general and statesman whose rise to power changed the course of Roman history (Wikimedia Commons)Julius Caesar
Florence Nightingale, born in 1820, transformed hospital care and founded the modern nursing profession (Wikimedia Commons)Florence Nightingale
Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes in the 1200s and built one of the largest empires the world has ever seen (Wikimedia Commons)Genghis Khan
Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer whose journeys across Asia in the 1200s were written down in a famous book of travels (Wikimedia Commons)Marco Polo
Christopher Columbus led voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, opening a new age of exploration between Europe and the Americas (Wikimedia Commons)Christopher Columbus
Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to sail all the way around the world, starting in 1519 (Wikimedia Commons)Ferdinand Magellan
Cleopatra was the last active ruler of ancient Egypt, known for her intelligence and political skill (Wikimedia Commons)Cleopatra
This painted bust of Queen Nefertiti of ancient Egypt is over 3,000 years old and is one of the most copied works of ancient art (Wikimedia Commons)Nefertiti Bust
Augustus became the first Roman emperor and ruled for over 40 years, ushering in a long era of peace known as the Pax Romana (Wikimedia Commons)Emperor Augustus
Confucius was an ancient Chinese philosopher whose teachings about respect and wisdom still influence millions of people today (Wikimedia Commons)Confucius
Thomas Edison was an inventor who developed the practical light bulb and held over 1,000 patents in his lifetime (Wikimedia Commons)Thomas Edison
The printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, made it possible to produce books like this Bible much faster than by hand (Wikimedia Commons)The Printing Press
Norse Vikings built swift wooden ships like this one to explore, trade, and travel across seas and rivers starting in the 700s (Wikimedia Commons)Viking Longship
In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts became the first humans to walk on the Moon, one of the greatest achievements in history (Wikimedia Commons)Apollo 11 Moon Landing
In 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first powered airplane flight in history, lasting just 12 seconds (Wikimedia Commons)Wright Brothers' First Flight
The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge in France, built almost 2,000 years ago to carry water across a valley (Wikimedia Commons)Roman Aqueduct (Pont du Gard)
Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans across northern England around 122 AD to mark and defend the edge of their empire (Wikimedia Commons)Hadrian's Wall
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States in 1886 and has welcomed millions of newcomers to America (Wikimedia Commons)Statue of Liberty
James Watt improved the steam engine in the 1700s, helping spark the Industrial Revolution and changing how the world worked (Wikimedia Commons)James Watt's Steam Engine
The Eiffel Tower was built in Paris in 1889 for a world's fair and was, for a while, the tallest structure ever built by people (Wikimedia Commons)Eiffel Tower
The ancient Olympic Games began in Olympia, Greece, around 776 BC and were held every four years to honor the god Zeus (Wikimedia Commons)Ancient Olympia