Editing History of Esperanto

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{{Esperanto sidebar |expanded=History}}
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Joshi speaking Esperanto.webm|thumb|An Esperanto speaker, recorded in the [[United States]].]]
[[L. L. Zamenhof]] developed [[Esperanto]] in the 1870s and '80s. ''[[Unua Libro]]'', the first print discussion of the language, appeared in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers have increased gradually since then, without much support from governments and international organizations. Its use has, in some instances, been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.

==Standardized Yiddish ==
Around 1880, while in Moscow and approximately simultaneously with working on Esperanto, Zamenhof made an aborted attempt to standardize [[Yiddish]], based on his native Bialystok (Northeastern) dialect, as a unifying language for the Jews of the Russian Empire. He even used a Latin alphabet, with the letters ''ć, h́, ś, ź'' (the same as in early drafts of Esperanto, later ''ĉ, ĥ, ŝ, ĵ'') and ''ě'' for [[schwa]]. However, he concluded there was no future for such a project, and abandoned it, dedicating himself to Esperanto as a unifying language for all humankind.<ref>Christer Kiselman, [http://www2.math.uu.se/~kiselman/pau2008.pdf "Esperanto: Its origins and early history"], in Andrzej Pelczar, ed., 2008, ''Prace Komisji Spraw Europejskich PAU'', vol. II, pp. 39–56, Krakaw.</ref> [[Paul Wexler (linguist)|Paul Wexler]] proposed that Esperanto was not an arbitrary pastiche of major European languages but a Latinate [[relexification]] of Yiddish, a native language of its founder.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wexler |first=Paul |title=Two-Tiered Relexification in Yiddish: Jews, Sorbs, Khazars, and the Kiev-Polessian Dialect |date=2002 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-017258-5 |location=Berlin |language=en}}</ref> This model is generally unsupported by mainstream linguists.<ref name="Spolsky">{{Cite book |last=Spolsky |first=Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Xk9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title=The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-91714-8 |location=Cambridge |pages=157, 180ff, 183 |language=en}}</ref>

== Development of the language before publication ==
{{further|Proto-Esperanto}}

Zamenhof would later say that he had dreamed of a world language since he was a child. At first he considered a revival of [[Latin]], but after learning it in school he decided it was too complicated to be a common means of international communication. When he learned English, he realised that [[grammatical conjugation|verb conjugations]] were unnecessary, and that grammatical systems could be much simpler than he had expected. He still had the problem of memorising a large vocabulary, until he noticed two Russian signs labelled ''Швейцарская'' (''švejtsarskaja,'' a porter's lodge – from ''швейцар'' ''švejtsar,'' a porter) and ''Кондитерская'' (''konditerskaja,'' a confectioner's shop – from ''кондитер'' ''konditer,'' a confectioner). He then realised that a judicious use of [[affix]]es could greatly decrease the number of root words needed for communication. He chose to take his vocabulary from [[Romance languages|Romance]] and [[Germanic languages|Germanic]], the languages that were most widely taught in schools around the world and would therefore be recognisable to the largest number of people.

Zamenhof taught an [[Proto-Esperanto|early version of the language]] to his high-school classmates. Then, for several years, he worked on translations and poetry to refine his creation. In 1895 he wrote, "I worked for six years perfecting and testing the language, even though it had seemed to me in 1878 that it was already completely ready." When he was ready to publish, the Czarist censors would not allow it. Stymied, he spent his time in translating works such as the Bible and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]. This enforced delay led to continued improvement. In July 1887 he published his ''[[Unua Libro]]'' (''First Book''), a basic introduction to the language. This was essentially the language spoken today.

== ''Unua Libro'' to Declaration of Boulogne (1887–1905)==<!-- This section is linked from [[Ido]] -->
''[[Unua Libro]]'' was published in 1887. At first the movement grew most in the Russian empire and eastern Europe, but soon spread to western Europe and beyond: to Argentina in 1889; to Canada in 1901; to Algeria, Chile, Japan, Mexico, and Peru in 1903; to Tunisia in 1904; and to Australia, the United States, Guinea, [[Indochina]], New Zealand, [[Tonkin]], and Uruguay in 1905.

In its first years Esperanto was used mainly in publications by Zamenhof and early adopters like [[Antoni Grabowski]], in extensive correspondence (mostly now lost), in the magazine ''[[La Esperantisto]]'', published from 1889 to 1895 and only occasionally in personal encounters.

In 1894, under pressure from Wilhelm Trompeter, the publisher of the magazine ''La Esperantisto'', and some other leading users, Zamenhof reluctantly put forward a radical reform to be voted on by readers. He proposed the reduction of the alphabet to 22 letters (by eliminating the accented letters and most of their sounds), the change of the plural to ''-i'', the use of a positional accusative instead of the ending ''-n'', the removal of the distinction between adjectives and adverbs, the reduction of the number of [[participles]] from six to two, and the replacement of the [[Table of correlatives (Esperanto)|table of correlatives]] with more Latinate words or phrases. These reforms were overwhelmingly rejected, but some were picked up in [[esperantido|subsequent reforms]] (such as [[Ido]]) and criticisms of the language. In the following decade Esperanto spread into western Europe, especially France. By 1905 there were already 27 magazines being published ([[#References|Auld 1988]]).

A small international conference was held in 1904, leading to the first world congress in August 1905 in [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], France. There were 688 Esperanto speakers present from 20 nationalities. At this congress, Zamenhof officially resigned his leadership of the Esperanto movement, as he did not want personal prejudice against himself (or [[anti-Semitism]]) to hinder the progress of the language. He proposed a [[Declaration of Boulogne|declaration]] on founding principles of the Esperanto movement, which the attendees of the congress endorsed.

== Declaration of Boulogne to present (1905–present)==
The [[World Esperanto Congress]] has been held every year since 1905, except during the two [[world wars]] and the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

The autonomous territory of [[Neutral Moresnet]], between Belgium and Germany, had a sizable proportion of Esperanto-speakers among its small and multiethnic population. There was a proposal to make Esperanto its official language. In 1908, it was eventually accepted alongside [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[German language|German]], and [[French language|French]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Dylan |date=2023-10-16 |title=The forgotten tale of Neutral Moresnet |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/742058/the-forgotten-tale-of-neutral-moresnet |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=Brussels Times |language=en}}</ref> There was also a large Esperanto group led by [[Anna Tuschinski]] in the [[Free City of Danzig]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-26 |title=Anna Eliza Tuschinski (1841–1939) |url=https://www.reformacja-pomorze.pl/2021/03/26/anna-eliza-tuschinski1841-1939/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Committee for Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Pomerania |language=pl-PL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Daniluk |first=Jan |date=2017-08-13 |title=90 lat od spotkania esperantystów w Gdańsku |trans-title=90 Years Since the Meeting of Esperanto Speakers in Gdańsk |url=https://historia.trojmiasto.pl/90-lat-od-spotkania-esperantystow-w-Gdansku-n115510.html |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Trojmiasto.pl |language=pl}}</ref>

In the early 1920s, a great opportunity seemed to arise for Esperanto when the [[Iran]]ian delegation to the [[League of Nations]] proposed that it be adopted for use in international relations, following a report by [[Nitobe Inazō]], an official delegate of League of Nations during the 13th World Congress of Esperanto in Prague.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zaft |first=Sylvan |title=Esperanto: A Language for the Global Village |date=2002 |publisher=Esperanto Antauen Publishing |location=Calgary |chapter=Chapter Two: From a Dream to a Reality |access-date=<!--24 February 2018--> |chapter-url=http://www.esperanto.ie/en/zaft/zaft_2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002210/http://www.esperanto.ie/en/zaft/zaft_2.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead |via=Website of the Esperanto Association of Ireland}}</ref> Ten delegates accepted the proposal with only one voice against, the French delegate, [[Gabriel Hanotaux]], who employed France's Council veto privilege to squash all League attempts at the recognition of Esperanto, starting on the first vote on 18 December 1920 and continuing through the next three years.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Hanotaux did not like how the French language was losing its position as the international language and saw Esperanto as a threat. However, two years later the League recommended that its member states include Esperanto in their educational curricula. The French retaliated by banning all instruction in Esperanto in French schools and universities.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} The French Ministry of Instruction said that acceptance of Esperanto would mean that "French and English would perish and that the literary standard of the world would be debased".{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Nonetheless, many people see the 1920s as the heyday of the Esperanto movement.

In 1941, the Soviet Union started performing mass arrests, deportations, and killings of many Esperantists and their relatives for fear of an anti-nationalistic movement, but it was interrupted by the [[Operation Barbarossa|Nazi invasion]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=Geoffrey |title=Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto 1887–2007 |date=2008 |publisher=Mondial |isbn=978-1-59569-090-6 |location=New York |page=162 |language=en}}</ref>

Hitler wrote in ''[[Mein Kampf]]''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hitler |first=Adolf |url=https://archive.org/details/meinkampf035176mbp |title=Mein Kampf |date=1941 |publisher=Reynal & Hitchcock |volume=1 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/meinkampf035176mbp/page/422 423] |language=en |chapter=Chapter XI |author-link=Adolf Hitler |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> that Esperanto was created as a universal language to unite the Jewish [[diaspora]].

The creation of a [[Judenrein|Jew-free]] [[National German Esperanto League]] was not enough to placate the Nazis.
The teaching of Esperanto was not allowed in [[List of prisoner-of-war camps in Germany|German prisoner-of-war camp]]s during World War II. Esperantists sometimes were able to get around the ban by convincing guards that they were teaching Italian, the language of Germany's closest ally.

[[File:Sixday.jpg|thumb|A Soviet calendar page for 22 October 1935 including the Esperanto ''oktobro'' among other translations.]]
In the early years of the [[Soviet Union]], Esperanto was given a measure of government support, and an officially recognized Soviet Esperanto Association came into being.<ref name="Harlow">[http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/EBook/chap07.html Donald J. Harlow, The Esperanto Book, chapter 7] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201024512/http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/EBook/chap07.html |date=1 December 2010 }}</ref> However, in 1937, Stalin reversed this policy and the use of Esperanto was effectively banned until 1956.<ref name="Harlow" />
While Esperanto itself was not enough cause for execution, its use was extended among Jews or trade unionists and encouraged contacts with foreigners.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

[[Kingdom of Italy under Fascism (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]], on the other hand, made some efforts of promoting [[tourism in Italy]] through Esperanto leaflets and appreciated the similarities of Italian and Esperanto.

[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Portugal's right-wing governments]] cracked down on the language from 1936 until they were deposed in the [[Carnation Revolution]] of 1974.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Melo |first=Daniel |date=2022-04-01 |title=‘Living Normally’: Everyday Life Under Salazarism |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02656914221085129 |journal=European History Quarterly |language=en |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=200–220 |doi=10.1177/02656914221085129 |issn=0265-6914|hdl=10362/138560 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nelsson |first=Richard |last2=Nelsson |first2=compiled by Richard |date=2024-04-24 |title=Portugal’s Carnation Revolution – archive, April 1974 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2024/apr/24/portugal-carnation-revolution-archive-1974 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> After the [[Spanish Civil War]], [[Francoist Spain]] cracked down on the [[Anarchism in Spain|Anarchists]] and [[Catalan nationalist]]s among whom the speaking of Esperanto had been quite widespread; but in the 1950s, the Esperanto movement was tolerated again,<ref name="Del Barrio">''[http://www.nodo50.org/esperanto/artik68es.htm La utilización del esperanto durante la Guerra Civil Española]'', [[Toño del Barrio]] and [[Ulrich Lins]]. Paper for the International Congress on the Spanish Civil War, (Madrid, 27–29 November 2006).</ref> with [[Francisco Franco]] accepting the honorary patronage of the [[Madrid World Esperanto Congress]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}

The [[Cold War]], especially in the 1950s and 1960s, put a damper on the Esperanto movement as well, as there were fears on both sides that Esperanto could be used for enemy propaganda. However, the language experienced something of a renaissance in the 1970s and spread to new parts of the world, such as its veritable explosion in popularity in Iran in 1975. By 1991 there were enough African Esperantists to warrant a pan-African congress. The language continues to spread, although it is not officially recognised by any country, and is part of the state educational curriculum of only a few.

In 2022 an Esperanto club was founded on the [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]] making Antarctica the last continent with organized Esperantists.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://icecube.wisc.edu/news/life-at-the-pole/2022/05/week-19-at-the-pole-2/ | title=Week 19 at the Pole | date=20 May 2022 }}</ref>
[[File:Esperanto-Klubo-Amundsen-Scott-2022.jpg|thumb|Esperanto Club on the [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]] in 2022]]

== Evolution of the language ==
The [[Declaration of Boulogne]](1905) limited changes to Esperanto. That declaration stated, among other things, that the basis of the language should remain the {{lang|eo|Fundamento de Esperanto|italics=yes}} ("Foundation of Esperanto", a group of early works by Zamenhof), which is to be binding forever: nobody has the right to make changes to it. The declaration also permits new concepts to be expressed as the speaker sees fit, but it recommends doing so in accordance with the original style.

Many Esperantists believe this declaration stabilising the language is a major reason why the Esperanto speaker community grew beyond the levels attained by other constructed languages and has developed a flourishing culture. Other constructed languages have been hindered from developing a stable speaking community by continual tinkering. Also, many developers of constructed languages have been possessive of their creation and have worked to prevent others from contributing to the language. One such ultimately disastrous case was [[Johann Martin Schleyer|Schleyer]]'s [[Volapük]]. In contrast, Zamenhof declared that "Esperanto belongs to the Esperantists", and moved to the background once the language was published, allowing others to share in the early development of the language.

The grammatical description in the earliest books was somewhat vague, so a consensus on usage (influenced by Zamenhof's answers to some questions) developed over time within boundaries set by the initial outline ([[#References|Auld 1988]]). Even before the Declaration of Boulogne, the language was remarkably stable; only one set of lexical changes were made in the first year after publication, namely changing "when", "then", "never", "sometimes", "always" from ''kian'', ''tian'', ''nenian'', ''ian'', ''ĉian'' to ''kiam'', ''tiam'', ''neniam'' etc., to avoid confusion with the accusative forms of ''kia'' "what sort of", ''tia'' "that sort of", etc. Thus Esperanto achieved a stability of structure and grammar similar to that which natural languages enjoy by virtue of their native speakers and established bodies of literature. One could learn Esperanto without having it move from underfoot. Changes could and did occur in the language, but only by acquiring widespread popular support; there was no central authority making arbitrary changes, as happened with [[Volapük]] and some other languages.

Modern Esperanto usage may in fact depart from that originally described in the ''Fundamento'', though the differences are largely semantic (involving changed meaning of words) rather than grammatical or phonological. The translation given for "I like this one", in the sample phrases in the main [[Esperanto]] article, offers a significant example. According to the ''Fundamento'', ''Mi ŝatas ĉi tiun'' would in fact have meant "I esteem this one". The traditional usage is ''Tiu ĉi plaĉas al mi'' (literally, "this one is pleasing to me"), which reflects the phrasing of most European languages (French ''celui-ci me plaît'', Spanish ''éste me gusta'', Russian ''это мне нравится'' [eto mnye nravitsya], German ''Das gefällt mir'', Italian ''mi piace''). However, the original ''Ĉi tiu plaĉas al mi'' continues to be commonly used.

For later changes to the language, see [[Modern evolution of Esperanto]].

== Dialects, reform projects and derived languages ==
{{see also|Esperantido}}

Esperanto has not fragmented into regional [[dialect]]s through natural language use. This may be because it is the language of daily communication for only a small minority of its speakers. However at least three other factors work against dialects, namely the centripetal force of the Fundamento, the unifying influence of the Plena Vortaro and its successors, which exemplified usage from the works of Zamenhof and leading writers, and the transnational ambitions of the speech community itself. Slang and [[jargon]] have developed to some extent, but such features interfere with universal communication – the whole point of Esperanto – and so have generally been avoided.

However, in the early twentieth century numerous reform projects were proposed. Almost all of these [[Esperantido]]s were stillborn, but the very first, [[Ido]] ("offspring"), had significant success for several years. Ido was proposed by the [[Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language]] in Paris in October 1907. Its main reforms were in bringing the [[alphabet]], [[semantics]], and some [[Grammar|grammatical]] features into closer alignment with the [[Romance languages]], as well as removal of adjectival agreement and the accusative case except when necessary. At first, a number of leading Esperantists put their support behind the Ido project, but the movement stagnated and declined, first with the accidental death of one of its main proponents and later as people proposed further changes, and the number of current speakers is estimated at between 250 and 5,000. However, Ido has proven to be a rich source of Esperanto vocabulary.

Some more focused reform projects, affecting only a particular feature of the language, have gained a few adherents. One of these is [[riism]], which modifies the language to incorporate [[non-sexist language]] and [[gender-neutral pronoun]]s. However, most of these projects are specific to individual nationalities (riism from English speakers, for example), and the only changes that have gained acceptance in the Esperanto community have been the minor and gradual bottom-up reforms discussed in the last section.

Esperanto is credited with influencing or inspiring several later competing language projects, such as [[Interlingue|Occidental]] (1922) and [[Novial]] (1928). These always lagged far behind Esperanto in their popularity. By contrast, [[Interlingua]] (1951) has greatly surpassed Ido in terms of popularity. It shows little or no Esperanto influence, however.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malmkjaer |first=Kirsten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDqCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT113 |title=Linguistics Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-64464-5 |edition=2nd |location=London |page=113 |language=en}}</ref>

== Timeline of Esperanto ==
* 1859: [[L. L. Zamenhof]], the creator of Esperanto, is born in [[Białystok]], Russia (now Poland).
* 1873: The Zamenhof family moves to [[Warsaw]].
* 1878: Zamenhof celebrates the completion of his universal language project, ''[[Proto-Esperanto#The Lingwe uniwersala of 1878|Lingwe Uniwersala]]'', with high school friends.
* 1879: Zamenhof attends medical school in Moscow. His father burns his language project while he's away. Meanwhile [[Johann Martin Schleyer|Schleyer]] publishes a sketch of [[Volapük]], the first [[constructed language|constructed international auxiliary language]] to acquire a number of speakers. Many Volapük clubs will later switch to Esperanto.
* 1881: Zamenhof returns to Warsaw to continue medical school, and starts to recreate his project.
* 1887: Zamenhof marries. In July, with his wife's financial help, he publishes ''[[Unua Libro]]'', the first publication introducing Esperanto, in Russian. Polish, German, and French translations are published later that year.
* 1888: [[Leo Tolstoy]] becomes an early supporter. Zamenhof publishes ''[[Dua Libro]]'', as well as the first English-language edition of ''Unua Libro'', which proved to be filled with errors.
* 1889: The second English-language edition of ''Unua Libro'' is published in January, translated by [[Richard H. Geoghegan]], and becomes the standard English translation. Henry Phillips Jr., of the American Philosophical Society, also translates ''Unua Libro'' into English. The first volume of ''[[La Esperantisto]]'' is published in September. The language begins to be called ''Esperanto''.
* 1894: Zamenhof, reacting to pressure, puts a radical reform to a vote, but it is overwhelmingly rejected. That version of Esperanto is often referred to as [[Reformed Esperanto|Esperanto 1894]].
* 1895: ''La Esperantisto'' ceases publication. ''[[Lingvo Internacia (periodical)|Lingvo Internacia]]'' begins publication in December.
* 1901: Zamenhof publishes [[Homaranismo|his ideas on a universal religion]], based on the philosophy of [[Hillel the Elder]].
* 1905: ''[[Fundamento de Esperanto]]'' is published in the spring. The first [[World Esperanto Congress]] is held in [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], with 688 participants and conducted entirely in Esperanto. The [[Declaration of Boulogne]] is drafted and ratified at the congress.
* 1906: The second [[World Esperanto Congress]] is held in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]], drawing 1200 participants. ''[[La Revuo]]'' begins publication.
* 1907: Twelve members of the British parliament nominate Zamenhof for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]]. The ''Ĉekbanko Esperantista'' (Esperantist Checking Bank) is founded in London, using the ''[[spesmilo]]'', an auxiliary Esperanto currency based on the [[gold standard]]. A committee organised by [[Louis Couturat]] in Paris proposes the Ido reform project, which provides significant competition for Esperanto until the First World War.
* 1908: The [[Universal Esperanto Association]] is founded by [[Hector Hodler]], a 19-year-old Swiss Esperantist.
* 1909: The International Association of Esperantist Railway Workers is founded in [[Barcelona]].
* 1910s: Esperanto is taught in state schools in the Republic of China, [[Samos]], and [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]].
* 1910: 42 members of the French parliament nominate Zamenhof for the Nobel Peace Prize.
* 1914: ''Lingvo Internacia'' and ''La Revuo'' cease publication.
* 1917: Zamenhof dies during World War I.
* 1920: The first Esperanto magazine for the blind, ''Aŭroro'', begins publishing in then-[[Czechoslovakia]]. It's still in print today.
* 1921: The [[Académie des Sciences|French Academy of the Sciences]] recommends using Esperanto for international scientific communication.
* 1922: Esperanto is banned from French schools.
* 1924: The [[League of Nations]] recommends that member states implement Esperanto as an auxiliary language.
* 1920s: Offices of the Brazilian Ministry of Education use Esperanto for their international correspondence. [[Lu Xun]], the founder of modern Chinese literature, becomes a supporter of Esperanto. [[Montagu C. Butler]] is the first to raise Esperanto-speaking children.
* 1933/34: Reorganisation of the international (neutral) Esperanto movement, under the name UEA.
* 1934: [[Encyclopedia of Esperanto]] first published in [[Budapest]].
* 1935: [[Kálmán Kalocsay|Kalocsay]] and [[Gaston Waringhien|Waringhien]] publish the influential ''Plena Gramatiko de Esperanto'' (Complete Grammar of Esperanto). Esperanto and other planned languages ''de facto'' prohibited in [[Nazi Germany]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sadler |first1=Victor |title=Man, Language and Society: Contributions to the Sociology of Language |last2=Lins |first2=Ulrich |date=1972 |publisher=Mouton |editor-last=Ghosh |editor-first=S. K. |location=The Hague |pages=209<!--206–215--> |chapter=Regardless of Frontiers: A Case Study in Linguistic Persecution}}</ref> in May.
* 1936: All Esperanto organisations in Nazi Germany prohibited in June through the prohibition of the [[Universal Esperanto Association|UEA]] and [[Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda|SAT]] in June by Heinrich Himmler.
* 1937: Leaders of the Esperanto organisation in the [[Soviet Union]] arrested; Esperanto activities made impossible.
* 1938: The World Esperanto Youth Organisation [[TEJO]] is founded.
* 1939–1945: In World War II many countries are occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union, where Esperanto organisations often were prohibited or Esperanto activities were limited in other ways.
* 1948: The railway workers' association is refounded as [[IFEF]], the ''Internacia Fervojista Esperanto-Federacio'' (International Railway Workers' Esperanto Federation) to foster the use of Esperanto in the administration of the railroads of the world (so far, of Eurasia).
* 1954: [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]] establishes consultative relations with the [[Universal Esperanto Association]].
* 1966: The precursor to ''[[Pasporta Servo]]'' is launched in Argentina. ''Pasporta Servo'' is a global network of Esperanto speakers who host Esperantists traveling through their countries.
* 1967: [[István Nemere]] founds the ''Renkontiĝo de Esperanto-Familioj'', the first organisation for Esperanto-speaking families.
* 1975: The Esperanto movement spreads to Iran, with three thousand learning the language in Tehran.
* 1980: The ''Internacia Junulara Kongreso'' (International Youth Congress) in [[Rauma, Finland]] ratify the [[Manifesto of Rauma]], articulating the view of many in the Esperanto movement that Esperanto is a goal in itself.
* 1985: UNESCO encourages UN member states to add Esperanto to their school curricula.
* 1987: 6000 Esperantists attend the 72nd [[World Esperanto Congress]] in [[Warsaw]], marking Esperanto's centennial.
* 1991: The first pan-African Esperanto Conference is held in [[Lomé]], Togo.
* 1992: PEN International accepts an Esperanto section.
* 1999: The Esperanto poet [[William Auld]] is nominated for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].
* 2001: The [[:eo:Vikipedio:Ĉefpaĝo|Vikipedio]] project ([[Esperanto Wikipedia]]) is launched, resulting in the first general encyclopedia written in a constructed language. It is now one of the most popular websites in Esperanto.
* 2004: The [[Europe–Democracy–Esperanto]] party (E°D°E°) contests the [[2004 European Parliament election|European Parliament elections]] in France, on a platform of making Esperanto the second language of all EU member states, taking 0.15% of the vote.
* 2007: [[Israel]] issues a stamp to commemorate 120 years of Esperanto (1887–2007). An image of Zamenhof is designed in a text describing his life, reproduced from the Wikipedia article on Esperanto. The corner of the tab shows the flag of the Esperanto movement.
* 2009: The [[Senate of Brazil]] passed a bill which would make Esperanto an optional part of the curriculum in its [[state school]]s. As of 2010 the bill has not yet been passed by the [[Chamber of Deputies of Brazil|Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=PLS 27/2008 |url=https://www25.senado.leg.br/web/atividade/materias/-/materia/83989 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Senado Federal |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PL-6162/2009 |url=https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=454210 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Portal da Câmara dos Deputados |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-18 |title=Entidades manifestam apoio à proposta de incluir ensino de Esperanto na grade de disciplinas da rede pública |url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/materias/2009/06/18/entidades-manifestam-apoio-a-proposta-de-incluir-ensino-de-esperanto-na-grade-de-disciplinas-da-rede-publica |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Senado Notícias |language=pt}}</ref>
* 2015: The 100th [[World Esperanto Congress]] is held in [[Lille]], France. [[Duolingo]] launches its Esperanto program.
* 2017: [[Amikumu]] is launched, an app connecting Esperantists with other local Esperantists throughout the world.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* Auld, William. ''La Fenomeno Esperanto''. Rotterdam: UEA, 1988.
* Dijk, Ziko van. ''Historio de UEA.'' Partizánske: Espero, 2012. 
* Forster, Peter Glover. ''The Esperanto Movement.'' Den Haag et al. 1982 (Hull 1977).
* Gobbo, Federico. ''[http://www.polin.pl/en/event/is-it-possible-for-all-people-to-speak-the-same-language Is It Possible for All People to Speak the Same Language? The Story of Ludwik Zamenhof and Esperanto]'' ([http://www.polin.pl/pl/system/files/attachments/is_it_possible_for_all_people_to_speak_the_same_language_-.pdf PDF]).
* König, Malte. [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/esperanto ''Esperanto'']. In: ''[[1914-1918-online]]. International Encyclopedia of the First World War'', ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2024-02-05.
* Korĵenkov, Aleksander. ''Historio de Esperanto''. Kaliningrad 2005.
* Lins, Ulrich. ''La Danĝera Lingvo''. Gerlingen, Germany: Bleicher Eldonejo, 1988. (Also available in Polish [http://esperanto.pl/pagephp?tid=311075] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029231555/http://esperanto.pl/pagephp?tid=311075 |date=29 October 2008 }})

== Further reading ==
* [[Ronald Creagh]] & Karine Tourraton. ''[http://dailybleed.blogspot.com/2009/02/short-history-of-anarchist.html A Short History of Anarchist Participation in the Esperanto Movement]''.

{{Language histories}}

[[Category:Esperanto history| ]]
[[Category:Language histories|Esperanto]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]