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Ho Chi Minh is born.
Ho Chi Minh would go on to be the communist leader of North Vietnam. He defeated the French Union in 1954 and led the Viet Minh independence movement beginning in 1941. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation.
They declared their independence by paraphrasing part of the Declaration of Independence. Vietnam would finally be a united, communist nation 30 years later. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory."
The idea behind the Domino Theory was that if Vietnam fell to communism, other nations would start to do the same. This would create a chain reaction, like a domino effect. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu.
The United States responded to this by increasing military aid to South Vietnam. They also began sending the first U.S. military advisers into the country. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into the North and South.
The nation was divided at the 17th parallel. North Vietnam would end up being supported by the communists. -
The United States withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam.
After this, Diem surrendered to North Vietnam in 1965. He was later assassinated during a coup by opposition generals. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam.
The election was to decide the next president of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was very popular, so Ngo Dinh Diem was afraid that Minh would win the election. -
The National Liberation Front is formed.
They were a mass political organization also known as the Viet Cong. They occupied South Vietnam and tried to unify the North and the South. -
South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire.
This man believed in Buddhism. He and many others did this to protest discrimination against Buddhists. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
He was wounded multiple times while in the car with his wife and a couple others. If JFK had lived, he probably would have reduced the US military presence in Vietnam, rather than escalating it. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese.
The name of this ship was the U.S.S. Maddox and this occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin. People responded very suspiciously because of the mixed stories the witnesses were providing. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
Combat troops didn't arrive until 1965, while military advisors were sent to Vietnam in May of 1961. Their numbers reached to about 9,000.
