-
Period: to
Major Scientific Development and Historical Events
-
Lend- Lease Act
It was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945 after the outbreak of WWII. -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany invades Russia. As a result, Russia enters WWII -
Atlantic Charter
Drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies. The Charter stated the ideal goals of WWII.
It detailed the goals and aims of the Allied powers concerning the war and the post-war world. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
A surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7.
U.S. enters World War II by declaring war on Japan the next day on December 8; and three days later against Germany and Italy. -
Duct Tape
Invented by the Permacel, a division of the Johnson and Johnson Company.
Originally used to keep moisture out of the ammunition cases during WWII. It was quickly discovered that the tape was very versatile and used it to fix their guns, jeeps, aircraft, etc. -
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program by the United States with the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. -
Nuclear Reaction
Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist, known for achieving the first controlled nuclear reaction.
He created the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction in December 1942 at the University of Chicago and worked on the development of the atomic bomb. -
Mark I Computer
Inventor: Howard Hathaway Aiken
The Mark I, was the world’s first program-controlled calculator; an early form of a digital computer, it was controlled by both mechanical and electrical devices. -
G.I. Bill
Formally known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, the lawprovided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans. -
Micowave Oven
Inventor: Percy LeBaron Spencer
The idea of using microwave energy to cook food was accidentally discovered by Percy Spencer of the Raytheon Company when he found that radar waves had melted a candy bar in his pocket. Experiments showed that microwave heating could raise the internal temperature of many foods far more rapidly than a conventional oven. -
The Slinky
Inventors: Betty and Richards James
This toy, debuted at Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, demonstrates a variety of physical forces and principles. -
United Nations Founded
The UN was founded to replace the League of Nations, The main reason for creating it was to avoid war through diplomacy. -
V-E Day
Short for Victory in Europe Day. VE Day was on May 8, 1945, ending hostitities in Europe. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only location where an atomic bomb was used agasinst mankind. It brought us to the nuclear/space age. Japan surrenders. This ultimately ended WWII. -
United States Atomic Energy Act of 1946
Also called the Mcmahon Act, it determined how the United States federal government would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its wartime allies. -
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech
Churchill anounced the "Iron Curtain," which symbolized the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. -
ENIAC Computer
Inventors: John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert
Acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, the first operational electronic digital computer in the U.S., developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War II ballistic firing tables. -
D-Day
The invasion of German Occupied France by the Western Allies, in Normandy.
Known as Operation Overlord, it was considered the turning point for the Allied Powers. -
Instant Photography
Inventor: Edwin Herbert Land
Land a remarkable new system of developing and taking pictures. He announced he introduced Polaroid instant film for use in his own Polaroid Land Camera. -
The Transistor
Inventors: John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley
The transistor became the building block for all modern electronics and the foundation for microchip and computer technology. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan helped rebuild the economies of Europe after the devastation of World War II. It was intended to help the European economies recover and thus prevent these crushed and demoralized countries resist the spread of Russian Communism. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a statement by US President Truman, that he would support all countries that declined communism, attempting to contain it with military and economic aid to prevent a Soviet takeover in these countries. -
Independence of India
Through civil disobediance, strikes and violence, Britain's Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act, ordering the demarcation of the dominions of India and Pakistan. -
Chemical Demulsifier
Inventor: Melvin De Groote
Used to treat crude oil. Chemical demulsifiers separate water from crude oil coming out of wells, a process that is necessary before raw petroleum can be refined into gasoline and other products. -
Velcro
Inventor: George de Mestral
Velcro, a marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, is strong, easily separated, lightweight, durable, and washable, comes in a variety of colors, and won’t jam. -
George Orwell's "1984"
Orwell wrote one of his famous novels, "1984" -
Berlin Blockade
During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. The Soviets wanted to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. -
US 1948 Presidential Elections
Truman was re-elected -
NATO Formed
Acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organiztion, the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
