1940s: Latin-American literature is not widely studied in North American high schools or universities.

Today: Many universities sponsor whole departments devoted to Latin-American literature; works by writers such as Borges, Julio Cortazar, and Gabriel García Márquez are included in many high school curricula.

1940s: Argentina's fascist Perón government grows in power; Borges is eventually removed from his post at the Miguel Cane Municipal Library for signing anti-Perón petitions.

Today: Since the overthrow of Perón in 1955, Argentina has undergone a series of revolutions and suspensions of its constitution. The followers of Perón (the Perónists) are still a vigorous political party. Perón's story became more well known in 1978, when Andrew Lloyd Weber's Evita, a stylized musical about Perón and his wife, premiered.

1940s: Scientists studying subatomic particles have...