Greatest moments of past 80 years

The attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US and the emergence of global terrorism came in at number five on the poll. Photo / Richard Robinson

British Council poll shows much diversity and surprising choices but everyone is united about the winner.

A global poll for the British Council of the greatest moments, discoveries and people of the past eight decades throws up cultural surprises - the invention of the instant noodle - and a clear winner.

It's undeniably a list that is as diverse in opinion as it is unifying in themes.

Eighty key moments that shaped the world have been chosen by a multicultural group of scientists, writers, artists, academics and diplomats to reflect the most momentous events of the planet's past eight decades.

The poll asked the panel of 25 to name their own key 80 landmark global moments, which were then ranked in turn by 10,000 adults in Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Britain and the United States.

The survey, conducted by YouGov and commissioned by the British Council to mark its 80th anniversary year as an international cultural organisation, is an eclectic mix of the expected big events of the 20th and 21st centuries, such as the start of World War II, which was judged to be No18, and, perhaps, more left-field thoughts such as the invention of the instant noodle in 1958, which comes in at No63.

But while the experts may have chosen a few unique moments from their specialised fields for a few of the top 80 - like the work of Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa coming in at No67, and the landmark protest anthem We Shall Overcome, popularised by Pete Seeger, ranked at 72 - there was an undisputed winner that brought people around the world together.

Judged to be the single most significant moment in world history since 1934, was the invention of the world wide web in 1989 by British scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

Twice as many people voted for this as the most important single moment than did for the discovery of a method to mass-produce penicillin in 1943, which came second. The widespread availability of home computers was third.

The rise of the mobile phone figured highly in the list - as did the growing awareness of environmental conservation.

Older people were more likely to think that internet-based developments have been influential. Digital technology - home computers, satellites and mobile phones - all featured highly, as did the invention of the nuclear bomb (No9) and nuclear energy (No 19).

Women were twice as likely as men to select the rise in global awareness of the importance of environmental protection and conservation.

The British Council will be sharing its publication, 80 Moments, around the world, through social media (which was itself voted in at No12) with the hashtag #80Moments.

The top 20
1 The invention of the world wide web, 1989.
2 Discovery of a method to mass produce penicillin, 1943.
3 The widespread availability of home computers, 1980s.
4 The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
5 The attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington DC and the emergence of terrorism as a major international phenomenon.
6 The rise in global awareness of the importance of environmental conservation.
7 The influence of Nelson Mandela on South African and international politics and society, 1918 to 2013.
8 The breakup of the Soviet Union, 1991.
9 The invention and explosion of the atomic bomb over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945.
10 Greater equality for women in many parts of the world.
11 The spread of English as a global language.
12 The growth of social media.
13 Satellite technology and its impact.
14 The Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe, 19419-45.
15 The development and widespread adoption of the mobile phone.
16 Completion of the Human Genome Project, which mapped the genetic structure of the human body, 2001.
17 Deng Xiaoping's "open door" policy, which started the economic transformation of China in 1978.
18 Hitler's invasion of Poland, marking the beginning of World War II, 1939.
19 The development of nuclear energy.
20 The work and influence of the physicist Albert Einstein, 1879- 1955.

- Observer