turning point

turning point

Maths a stationary point at which the first derivative of a function changes sign, so that typically its graph does not cross a horizontal tangent

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Turning Point

Alamogordo

site of first A-bomb explosion; heralded atomic age (1945). [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 11]

Barbarossa

disastrous invasion of Russia; sealed Nazi fate (1941–1943). [Eur. Hist.: Hitler, 888–921, 922–955]

Caesar crosses Rubicon

defying Roman law, Caesar moves to consolidate power (49 B.C.). [Rom. Hist.: EB, 3: 575–580]

Cannonade of Valmy

dawn of modern warfare (1792). [Eur. Hist.: Fuller, II, 346–369]

Crécy

first European use of gunpowder (by British) in battle (1346). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 382–385]

D-Day

Allied invasion of France during WWII (June 6, 1944). [Eur. Hist.: Fuller, III, 562–567]

El Alamein

“Desert Fox” outfoxed; Allies gained upper hand (1943). [Eur. Hist.: Fuller, III, 494–502]

Fall of Constantinople

associated with end of Middle Ages (1453). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 398]

Gettysburg, Battle of

the deathblow of the Confederacy (1863). [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 199]

Golden Spurs, Battle of

early victory of infantry over mounted knights (1302). [Eur. Hist.: EB, IV: 608]

Hastings, Battle of

Norman conquest; last successful invasion of Britain (1066). [Br. Hist.: Harbottle, 107]

Khe Sanh

savage siege marks turning point in Vietnam (1968). [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 620]

Magna Charta

beginning of British democratic system (1215). [Br. Hist.: Bishop, 49–52, 213]

Marston Moor

deciding battle of British Civil War (1644). [Br. Hist.: Harbottle, 154]

Midway

decisive American victory over Japanese in WWII (1942). [Am. Hist.: Fuller, III, 470–477]

Moon Landing

astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin make history (1969). [Am. Hist.: NCE, 2579–2581]

95 Theses

Martin Luther presented his theses at Wittenberg (1517). [Eur. Hist.: EB, 11: 188–196]

Origin of Species

Darwin’s revolutionary theory of human evolution (1859). [Science: NCE, 721–722]

Spanish Armada

Britain supplanted Spain as master of the sea. [Br. Hist.: Harbottle, 19]

Tours

Arab onslaught halted by Franks under Charles Martel (732). [Eur. Hist.: Bishop, 19]

theory of relativity

Einstein’s contribution to the space-time relationship. [Science: NCE, 843–844]

Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.