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'We shall fight on the beaches' speech
"We shall fight on the beaches" was a speech delivered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on June 4th, 1940. The speech is considered one of the most iconic addresses of World War II. -
The attack on Pearl Harbour
The attack on Pearl Harbour was an unprovoked Japanese military strike on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour, Honolulu. The attack took place on December 7th, 1941, and there were approximately 2400 people killed. -
The 'Manhattan Project' is created
The Manhattan Project was formally created on August 13th, 1942. The program was created in response to fears that German scientists had begun working on a nuclear weapon. It comprised around 130 000 members from the United States, Britain, and Canda, and was responsible for the creation of the first atomic bomb. -
The invention of the aqualung
The aqualung was the first open-circuit, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus to achieve commercial success. The device was created by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in 1943, and is the blueprint for many modern day scuba diving equipment. -
D-Day (Normandy landings)
D-Day refers to the Normandy landings on June 6th, 1944. This operation was the largest seaborne invasion in history, and had a crucial role during World War II for the allies against Germany. -
Death of Adolf Hitler
The chancellor and dictator of Germany died on April 30th, 1945, mostly likely due to suicide by gunshot. The German leader was responsible for starting the Second World War following an invasion into Poland, and controlled the regime which carried out the Holocaust. -
The Trinity Test
The Trinity Test was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. In the early morning of July 16th, 1945, the device was detonated in New Mexico, producing a blinding light and mushroom cloud. This test was conducted by the Manhattan Project. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the uranium bomb 'Little Boy' over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. By the end of 1945, the bombing had killed an estimated 140 000 people in Hiroshima. In both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many survivors would face cancer, leukemia, and other ramifications from the radiation. -
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki
On August 9, 1945, the Japanese city of Nagasaki was bombed with the 'Fat Man' plutonium bomb by the United States in an attempt to quickly end the Second World War. Initially, 40 000 people were killed by the detonation. Within the next five years, well over 100 000 deaths were directly related to the bombing of Nagasaki. -
Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' Speech
The 'Iron Curtain' speech was delivered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on March 5th, 1946. In his speech, Churchill expressed the necessity for the United States and Britain to act as guardians of peace in order to fight against the the menace of Soviet communism. He described how this menace had lowered an 'iron curtain' across Europe, referring to the political, military and ideological barrier created by the USSR. -
Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, was assassinated in the compound of Birla House (present day Gandhi Smriti) on January 30th, 1948. Gandhi was 78 years old at the time and suffered three bullets to the chest and abdomen area.
Gandhi was well known for his methods of non-violent civil disobedience which assisted him in his fight for India's independence from British colonial rule. -
Somerton Man
The Somerton Man was a man whose unidentified body was found lying on a beach in Somerton, Adelaide, on the 1st of December, 1948. He was found slumped against a wall, with a scrap of paper in his trouser pocket which read 'Taman Shud' roughly translating to 'the end' or 'the finish'. As of July 2022 there has been a possible identification of the Somerton Man.
