A Timeline of the Cold War By 1455258 Period: Jan 1, 1944 to Dec 31, 1991 A Timeline of the Cold War Nov 29, 1944 Albania Becomes Communist Feb 4, 1945 Yalta Conference Jul 17, 1945 Potsdam Conference Jun 24, 1948 Berlin Airlift Apr 4, 1949 NATO Treaty is Signed Jun 25, 1950 Korean War Begins Jul 27, 1953 Korean War Ends May 14, 1955 Warsaw Pact is Signed Nov 1, 1955 Vietnam War Starts Oct 4, 1957 USSR Launches Sputnik Feb 16, 1959 Fidel Castro Becomes Prime Minister of Cuba Jan 20, 1961 John F.Kennedy is Elected President Apr 17, 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion Aug 13, 1961 East Germany Constructs the Berlin Wall Oct 15, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Begins Nov 22, 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President Jan 20, 1969 Richard Nixon is Elected President Mar 11, 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes Leader of the USSR Jan 20, 1989 George H.W. Bush is Elected Nov 9, 1989 Berlin Wall Comes Down