Eli5: Why is the English language most common in this world?

Question

Eli5: Why is the English language most common in this world?

In: 41

Answer 1

The UK dominated a lot of places for most of the 1800s and early 1900s. The US has culturally dominated since the mid-1900s. Aviation and science is pretty universally required to speak English worldwide. It makes sense to learn English for most educated people.