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February 4–11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization.
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The goals of the conference included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war.
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With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.
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NATO stood as the main U.S.-led military alliance against the Soviet Union throughout the duration of the Cold War.
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The agency attempted to put forward a comprehensive nationwide plan for fallout shelters, but confusion over goals led to insufficient budgets passing Congress, and in later years, the agency focused on evacuation as a strategy
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Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes President of the United States.
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The United States launches the world's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus.
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The Baghdad Pact is founded by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. It is committed to resisting Communist expansion in the Middle East.
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A collective defense treaty among eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War.
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The Eisenhower doctrine commits the US to defending Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from Communist influence.
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Soviet artificial satellite.
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Explorer I was the first satellite of the US that was launched during the Cold War.
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An American U-2 spy plane is shot down while conducting espionage over the Soviet Union.
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France withdraws from NATO command structure.
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Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, ratified by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, among others, enters into force.
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The communist Khmer Rouge take power in Cambodia; genocide ensues, later referred to as "The Killing Fields".
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U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, sign the SALT II agreement, outlining limitations and guidelines for nuclear weapons.
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Soviet spy Dieter Gerhardt is arrested in New York.
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Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union.
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All Soviet institutions cease operations.