1945-2000 By mkab Period: Jan 1, 1945 to Dec 31, 2000 1945-2000 May 7, 1945 Germany Surrenders Oct 1, 1949 People's Republic of China declared Feb 6, 1952 Queen Elizabeth II begins her reign Nov 1, 1955 Official beginning of the Vietnam War Apr 12, 1961 Russian man Yuri Gagarin: first person into space Aug 13, 1961 Berlin Wall is built Nov 22, 1963 Assassination of JFK Dec 17, 1967 PM Harold Holt dissapears whilst swimming Jun 21, 1969 Man lands on the moon Apr 30, 1975 Vietnam War ends Apr 26, 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster Apr 15, 1989 Tiananmen Square incident in China Nov 9, 1989 The fall of the Berlin Wall Dec 25, 1991 Dissolution of the Soviet Union Sep 15, 2000 Sydney Olympics