major world events By daniel77885@juliancharterschool.org May 10, 1940 Winston Churchill becomes Britain Prime Minister Period: May 10, 1940 to Dec 21, 1988 Major world events Jul 4, 1946 Philippines gains independence from US May 17, 1949 Ireland gain independence from Britain May 7, 1954 Viet Minh army defeated French troops in Dien Bien Phu Oct 31, 1954 Algerian begin war against France for independence Mar 1, 1956 Morocco declear independence from France Jun 13, 1956 Egypt takes control of Suez Canal Jun 30, 1960 Congo gained independence Oct 20, 1962 China and India border conflict in the Himalaya region Jun 11, 1964 Nelson Mandela of South Africa sentenced to life inprisonment Oct 16, 1964 China conducted nuclear bomb test in the first time Jan 1, 1973 UK, Ireland and Denmark joined European Economic Community Jul 22, 1977 Chinese Leader Deng Xiaoping restored power Feb 17, 1979 Chinese troops invade Vietnam Apr 2, 1982 British defeats Argentina in Falklands war Dec 21, 1988 Terrorists explode and crash an Pan-Am 747 in Lockerbie, Scotland