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The first Nuke was tested in manhattan, called the "Manhattan Project"
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The US detonates a uranium bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing more than 140,000 people within months. Many more later die from radiation-related illnesses.
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The US explodes a plutonium bomb over Nagasaki. An estimated 74,000 people die by the end of 1945. Little can be done to ease the suffering of the victims who survive the blast.
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In its first resolution, the UN General Assembly calls for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and sets up a commission to deal with the problem of the atomic discovery.
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The Soviet Union explodes a nuclear weapon code-named “First Lightning” in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. It becomes the second nation to develop and successfully test a nuclear device.
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The UK conducts its first nuclear test at Montebello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. It later conducts a series of tests at Maralinga and Emu Fields in South Australia.
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The US raises the stakes in the nuclear arms race by detonating the first hydrogen bomb at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is 500 times more powerful than the Nagasaki bomb.
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The US detonates a 17-megaton hydrogen bomb, “Bravo”, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, contaminating a Japanese fishing boat, Lucky Dragon, and residents of Rongelap and Utirik.
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Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and other leading scientists issue a manifesto warning of the dangers of nuclear war and urging all governments to resolve disputes peacefully.
