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Yalta Conference
A meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945 as World War II was coming to an end. -
The Potsdam Conference
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (replaced on July 26 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee), and U.S. President Harry Truman, met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. -
U.S. drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
During the final stage of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
WWII Ends
The war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945 (V-J Day). -
The 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. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. -
Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb
On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. -
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) formed
In September of 1954, the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO. -
Warsaw Pact formed
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. -
The Space Race
The Space Race was a competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and the United States, for supremacy in spaceflight capability. -
Hungarian Revolution
Soviet/Hungarian government victory -
Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba
Fidel Castro is sworn in as prime minister of Cuba after leading a guerrilla campaign that forced right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile. Het then installed a communist government -
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
A failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506. -
East Germany builds Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that existed from 1961 through 1989, constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba. -
U.S. commits combat troops to South Vietnam
This was the first commitment of American combat troops in South Vietnam and there was considerable reaction around the world to the new stage of U.S. involvement in the war. -
South Vietnam falls to Communist forces
North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and the war came to an end. North Vietnamese Col. Bui Tin accepted the surrender from Gen. Duong Van Minh, who had taken over after Tran Van Huong spent only one day in power. -
U.S. and China establish diplomatic relations
As of January 1, 1979, the United States of America recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. On the same date, the People's Republic of China accords similar recognition to the United States of America. The United States thereby establishes diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. -
U.S. invades Grenada
President Ronald Reagan, citing the threat posed to American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada by that nation's Marxist regime, orders the Marines to invade and secure their safety. -
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union
He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. -
The Soviet Union is abolished
With Mikhail's tried attempts to hold the Soviet Union together, communistss staged an unsuccessful coup against him and Boris Yeltsin took over as the President of Russia.
