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History of Nuclear Weapons
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Manhattan Project apporved by FDR
Thinking that Germany was close to createing nuclear weapons.. This project was to develop a nuclear weapon to be used against Germany. -
atom split by Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist, starts a graphite pile that was built from uranium and graphite. This was called a pile and formed a reactor. -
Fisrt Nuclear Weapon test
in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico -
Bomb droped on Hiroshima, Japan
"Little Boy" was the codename for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets -
First meeting of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission
U.S. delegate Bernard Baruch presents a modified Acheson-Lilienthal Proposal to internationalize control of atomic energy. He announces, "We are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead. That is our business. Behind the black portent of the new atomic age lies a hope, which seized upon in faith, can work our salvation. If we fail, then we have damned every man to be the slave of Fear. Let us not deceive ourselves. We must elect World Peace or World Destruction." -
Gen. MacArthur wants to use Nukes in Korea
After American forces pushed the North Korean army to the Chinese border, China retaliated and General MacArthur wanted to use nuclear bombs to stop Chinese forces. -
U.S. builds and tests first hydrogen bomb
The Hydrogen Bomb, codenamed "mike", was tested at Enewetak Atoll. The fireball was big enough to cover most of Manhattan Island. -
U.S. makes and luanched first Nuclear submarine
The United States launched the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, in 1954. Nautilus could remain underwater for up to four months without resurfacing. the U.S. Congress authorized construction of the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, under the leadership of Captain Hyman G. Rickover, USN. -
Castle Bravo
The first hydronuclear weapon test, codenamed Castle Bravo, is carried out by the United States. The yield for this test was 15 megatons, making it the most powerful weapon ever tested by the United States. -
IAEA Established
The International Atomic Energy Agency is established. -
France tests thier first Nuclear Weapon
France conducts its first nuclear weapon test known as "Gerboise bleue". -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other in October 1962, during the Cold War. The first consignment of R-12 missiles arrived on the night of September 8, followed by a second on September 16. The R-12 was the first operational intermediate-range ballistic missile -
U.S makes a hotline with U.S.S.R.
The Moscow-Washington hotline is a system that allows direct communication between the leaders of the United States and Russia. It was originally designed by Harris Corporation for communication between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
partial test ban treaty
Limited success was achieved with the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in space. Neither France nor China signed the PTBT -
China tests thier first nuclear weapon
China conducts its first nuclear weapon test codenamed “596” at the Lop Nur test site. -
NPT Opens for Signature
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), opens for signature. -
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco, the first nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ), covering Latin America and the Caribbean, enters into force. -
ABM Treaty Signed
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty is signed by the United States and Soviet Union. The treaty placed a limit on the number of anti-ballistic missile systems used by either country. -
SALT I Negotiations
The United States and Soviet Union hold Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) from November 17, 1969 to May 26, 1972, aimed at limiting missile systems and other strategic armaments. The ABM Treaty was also negotiated as a result of these meetings. -
India's Peaceful Nuclear Explosion
India conducts a peaceful nuclear explosion codenamed the Smiling Buddha. -
First NPT Review Conference
The First NPT Review Conference takes place. The number of states parties is 91. The conference decides to hold review conferences every five years thereafter to review the implementation of the NPT. The Final Document reaffirms commitment to treaty objectives and urges nuclear weapon states to comply with disarmament obligations. -
SALT II Negotiations
U.S. and USSR sign the SALT II Treaty but never ratify the agreement due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan later that year. -
Reykjavik Summit
At a summit meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev discuss limiting U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals to 1,600 strategic nuclear delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads for ICBMs, SLBMs, and ALCMs. The meeting fails to produce a concrete agreement as the Soviets demand that the United States first cancel plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which the United States refused to do. -
The Treaty of Rarotonga
The Treaty of Rarotonga, a NWFZ covering the South Pacific, enters into force. -
INF Treaty
The Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-range and Shorter-range Missiles (INF Treaty) enters into force. -
START Treaty Signed
The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START I) opens for signature. -
NPT Indefinite Extension
States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons convene for the Treaty’s fifth review conference. The NPT is extended indefinitely. -
The CTBT Opens for Signature
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty opens for signature. The Treaty has yet to enter into force. -
The Treaty of Bangkok
The Treaty of Bangkok, a NWFZ covering Southeast Asia, enters into force. -
India's Pokhran II Nuclear Tests
The IAEA Board of Governors accepts the Model Additional Protocol, a protocol that could be added to existing comprehensive safeguards agreements, providing the IAEA with strengthened safeguards verification authority. -
Pakistan's First Nuclear Test
Pakistan carries out a series of nuclear weapon tests known as Chagai I and II -
2000 NPT Review Conference
States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons convene for the Treaty’s sixth review conference. The 2000 NPT review conference was considered a success as States Parties agreed by consensus on a Final Document that included 13 “practical steps for the systematic and progressive efforts to implement Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” which specifically deals with nuclear disarmament. -
U.S. Announces Withdrawal from ABM Treaty
U.S. President George W. Bush notifies the Russian Federation that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the ABM Treaty. The withdrawal clause in the treaty required a 6 month notification prior to leaving. The U.S. would officially withdraw from the treaty on 13 June 2002, with Russia declaring START II defunct on the same day. -
SORT Treaty Signed
The Treaty between The United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) opens for signature. -
The Central Asian NWFZ
The Central Asian NWFZ enters into force -
Obama's Prague Speech
U.S. President Obama outlines his vision for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons in Prague, Czech Republic. -
2010 NPT Review Conference
The eighth NPT Review Conference takes place in New York. A Final Document was adopted that included an action plan of 64 items to strengthen efforts towards achieving nuclear disarmament. -
Nuclear Security Summit
U.S. President Barack Obama hosted a Nucelar Security Summit in Washington, D.C. in an effort to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. Leaders, including heads-of-state, from over 40 nations gathered to discuss measures to secure all vulnerable weapons grade fissile material within four years.
