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The United States drops an atomic bomb—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000.
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Emperor Bao Dai surrenders leadership to Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh.
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The Viet Minh attacks French forces in northern Vietnam, the Franco-Vietnamese War begins.
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President Harry S. Truman is elected to a second term.
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The French surrender to the Viet Minh.
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Some 850,000 North Vietnamese, mostly Catholics, emigrate to South Vietnam; 80,000 residents of the South, primarily Viet Minh supporters, move to the North.
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Ex-Viet Minh forces in the South organize and begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare against Diem's administration.
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Democrat John F. Kennedy defeats Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States.
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President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.
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The U.S. bombs North Vietnam for the first time.