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H-Bomb development
U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb. The weapon was said to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between North and South Korea. The United Nations force led by the United States fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. -
FCDA Development
President Harry S. Truman signs the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950. The Federal Civil Defense Administration established weeks earlier within the Executive Office of the President is transformed into an independent agency headed by a presidential appointee. -
Truman Fires McArthur
President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a short uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a limited war. -
Nuke Arms Race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies during the Cold War. During this period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries developed nuclear weapons and tested them. -
Korean War Ends
After three years of 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. The armistice ended America’s first experiment with the Cold War concept of limited war. -
KGB established
The KGB was a military service and was governed by army laws and regulations. Its main functions were foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, operative-investigatory activities, guarding the State Border of the USSR, guarding the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government, organization and ensuring of government communications as well as combating nationalism, dissent, and anti-Soviet activities. -
CIA aids Iran in Guatemla
United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, against post-revolutionary Iran, included several billion dollars' worth of economic aid, the sale of dual-use technology, non-U.S. origin weaponry, military intelligence, Special Operations training, and direct involvement in warfare against Iran. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among Soviet Union and seven Soviet sattelite states in Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. It was established as a balance of power. -
USSR sends Military aid to Afghanistan
The Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan was primarily motivated by geopolitical interests in the region. Another obvious factor in the decision was related to the soft power commitments of socialist ideology, which predisposed the Soviet Union to safeguard a friendly regime. -
Suez Crisis begins
The Suez Crisi was an invasion of Egypt in 1956 by Isreal, the United Kingdom, and France. The goal was to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser. -
Sputnik launched into orbit
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The sattelite took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
Sputnik II launched
On November 3, 1957, the USSR stunned the world with a new space event, the launch of Sputnik-2 carrying a dog. The mission provided scientists with the first data on the behavior of a living organism in the space environment. -
Cuba is taken over by Fidel Castro
On January 1, 1959, President Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by rebels and Cuba became a revolutionary country. The Cuban Revolution had powerful domestic and international effects in the end. -
First Nuclear test by France
Gerboise Bleue was the name of the first French nuclear bomb test. It was an atomic bobm that was detonated near Reggane, in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert. -
John F. Kennedy is elected for President
John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States. For the first time, presidential candidates engaged in televised debates. -
Berlin border is closed
The Berlin border crossings were created as a result of the postwar division of Germany. West Germans and citizens of other Western countries could usually visit East Germany. -
Construction of Berlin Wall begins
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Cuban Missile Crisis
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the Soviet Union were in a tense standoff. It was close, but catastrophe was avoided when Nikita Khrushchev made a special exchange. -
John F. Kennedy is assassinated
After noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a car through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. By the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign. -
First Nuclear test by China
596, originally named by the US intelligence agencies Chic-1, is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, After the test, Taiwanese leadership called for an attack on the bomb facilities. -
U.S. Combat troops arrive in Vietnam
In 1965, the United States rapidly increased its military forces in South Vietnam, provoked by the realization that the South Vietnamese government was losing the Vietnam War. The U.S. began bombing North Vietnam in March in Operation Rolling Thunder. -
Richard Nixon Elected President
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon, won the election over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. -
Apollo 11 lands on the moon
Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. -
President Nixon extends Vietnam to Cambodia
President Richard Nixon gave his formal authorization to commit U.S. combat troops against communist troop sanctuaries in Cambodia. When Nixon publicly announced the Cambodian incursion on April 30, it set off a wave of antiwar demonstrations. -
Cease fire in Vietnam
When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam’s territory and 85 percent of the population. The cease-fire began on time, but both sides violated it. -
CIA Military coup overthrows Salvador Allende
During the air raids and ground attacks that followed the coup, President Salvador Allende gave his last speech, in which he vowed to stay in the presidential palace. Salvador Allende commited suicide when the CIA Military coup surrounded his palace. -
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War was a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel. The war began when the Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli positions in the Israeli-occupied territories on Yom Kippur -
President Nixon resigns
With impeachment almost certain for Nixon after the Watergate scandal, Nixon decides to resign. He claims he resigned for the "interest of the nation". -
North Vietnam defeats South Vietnam which falls to communist forces
After a long and treacherous Vietnam war North Vietnam forces overthrew South Vietnamese forces. Soon, South vietnam falls to communism.
