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The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000)
US drops bomb on Japan, because they refused to surrender. -
Japanese surrender End of World War II
Japanese finally surrendered after second bombing by the US on Nagasaki. -
Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China and establishes the People's Republic of China
Mao Zedong becomes dictator of China. -
Korean War begins
Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons. -
Korean War ends
After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end. -
Warsaw Pact formed
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. -
Sputnik launched into orbit
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957. It was a 58 cm diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennae to broadcast radio pulses. -
Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades, until handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. -
Cuban Missile Crisis begins
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis, the Caribbean Crisis, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. -
End of Soviet Union and the Cold War Ends
The Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the Soviet Union ended in 1991. The Cold War was over.
