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The Yalta Conference
The Allies of World War II (USA, USSR, Great Britain, & France) divide Germany into 4 occupation zones. -
1st Atomic Weapons Use
President Truman gives permission for the world's first military use of an atomic weapon against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WWII in the Pacific was brought to a swift closure. -
Cold War Term 1st Used
Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Korea Becomes a Communist Country
The Soviet Union declares the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to be the legitimate government of all of Korea. -
NATO is Founded
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded in order to resist Communist expansion. -
Soviet Union Tests 1st Atomic Weapon
The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. The Soviet Union becomes the world's second nuclear power. -
China Becomes a Communist Country
Mao Zedong declares the People's Republic of China - adding a quarter of the world's population to the communist side. -
East Germany Becomes a Communist Zone
The Soviet Union declare their zone of Germany to be the German Democratic Republic. Its capital at East Berlin. -
The Korean War Begins
United Nations forces engage North Korean forces for the first time. -
The Korean War Ends
An armistice agreement ends fighting in the Korean War. -
Warsaw Pact Founded
The Warsaw Pact is founded in Eastern Europe and includes East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. It acts as the Communist military counterpart to NATO. -
Soviet Union Launches 1st Satellite in Space
Sputnik satellite launched and triggers the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
The United States Forms NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA is formed to counter the Soviet Union's space program -
The Berlin Wall is Built
The Berlin Wall is built by the Soviet Union following the breakdown in talks to decide the future of Germany. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union secretly installed nuclear weapons on Cuba. President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the island that intensified the crisis and brought the US and the USSR to the brink of nuclear war. In the end, both sides reached a compromise. -
The United States Enters the Vietnam War
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident leads to the open involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. -
The Vietnam War Ends
The Paris Peace Accords end American involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Accidental Nuclear War Avoided
The U.S.S.R. nuclear early warning system reported launch of multiple U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles. The incident was correctly identified as a false alarm and nuclear warfare was avoided. -
President Reagan Gives his Tear Down This Wall Speech
During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in a speech: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (The Berlin Wall). -
The Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Some later claim this was the official end of the Cold War. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall is breached and borders were opened. -
The Malta Summit
At the end of the Malta Summit, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush declare that a long-lasting era of peace has begun. Many observers regard this summit as the official beginning of the end of the Cold War. -
The End of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact is formally dissolved. -
The End of the Cold War
US President George H. W. Bush, after receiving a phone call from Boris Yeltsin, delivers a Christmas Day speech acknowledging the end of the Cold War.
