Cold War Timeline
Category: Other
Updated: 12 Apr 2018
Contributors
Created byKatie Volkov - THH Student
Attachments
Events
Cold War Ends (December 25th, 1991)
Appearing on national television,
Gorbachev resigns his office
in a speech, announcing the end
of the war.Berlin Wall Falls (November 9th, 1989)
The symbolic boundary between
Capitalism and Communism falls as
East Germany announces an easing
of travel restrictions to the West, and
thousands demand passage through
the wall.SALT Treaty or Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (1972)
An agreement that both sides
would limit the number of nuclear
warheads and missiles each country
could maintain, significantly slowing
the arms race.Yalta Conference (February 4-11th, 1945)
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin gather
at a resort in Soviet Union to discuss
issues affecting the postwar world.Formation of the United Nations
(October 24th, 1945)
A permanent international
organization is formed to
maintain peace after the war.Potsdam Conference
(July 17th-August 2nd, 1945)
The Allies form plans for the occupation
of Germany. They issue a threat to
Japan, demanding surrender.Truman Doctrine (March 12th, 1947)
An American foreign policy with
the stated purpose to counter
Soviet geopolitical expansion
throughout the Cold War.Berlin Blockade (June 24th-May 12th, 1948)
The Soviet Union blocks the
Western Allies' railway, road,
and canal access to the parts
of Berlin under the control of the
West.The Soviets Explode First Atomic Bomb
(August 29th, 1949)
The Soviet Union explodes its first
nuclear weapon on the Kazakhstan
range, stunning the West.The Beginning of the Korean War (June 1950)
A war between North Korea and
South Korea breaks out, the first
armed conflict in the Cold War.Sputnik is Launched (October 4th, 1957)
The world's first space satellite is launched
into space by the Soviet Union, changing
history.Fidel Castro Takes Control of Cuba
(January 1st, 1959)
Castro successfully takes
over Cuba by leading an
overthrow of the military
dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
Now in power, he establishes a
Communist government.U-2 Incident (May 1st, 1960)
A United States U-2 spy plane
is shot down while in Soviet
airspace, derailing an important
summit meeting between
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.The Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 11th, 1961)
A failed military invasion of Cuba is
undertaken by the CIA. The invasion
had hoped to revolt the Cubans
but failed. Castro's forces captured
and killed most of the invaders.
President Kennedy's new presidency
and global image of the U.S. was damaged.Apollo 11 On The Moon and the Space Race
(July 20th, 1969)
The first spaceflight that landed the
first humans (Neil Armstrong) on the
moon. American technological skills
brought the United States into
competition with the Soviet Union
in space exploration.Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins
(August 13th, 1961)
A wall is built to separate East
and West Berlin in an effort to
deplete the mass of refugees
attempting to leave the Communist
East Berlin.Cuban MIssile Crisis
(October 16th- October 28th, 1962)
A direct and dangerous confrontation
between the United States and Soviet
Union. This was the moment when
the two superpowers came closest
to nuclear conflict.U.S. Troops Enter Vietnam and Become
Heavily Involved (March 8th, 1965)
The superpowers provided aid to
their allies. 3,500 Marines land at China
beach to defend the American air
base at Da Nang, joining the 23,000
military advisors already in Vietnam.U.S. Troops Exit Vietnam
(March 29th, 1973)
President Nixon's plan for
ending the war was through a
process called Vietnamization
or the gradual withdrawal of U.S.
troops while handing over control
of war operations to South Vietnam.Marshall Plan (June 3rd, 1948)
An aid program proposed by
Marshall with the purpose of
restoring Europeans confidence
in economic future by determining
the economic needs and how the
U.S. might help.NATO (April 4th, 1949)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
A military alliance of European and North
American democracies to strengthen
international ties and to serve as a counter-
balance to Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact.Warsaw Pact (May 14th, 1955)
A military alliance of Communist nations in
Europe including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romana, and
the Soviet Union.Rosenburg is Executed (June 19th, 1953)
Spies giving secrets about America's nuclear
weapons to the Russian.Gorbachev Ends Economic Aid
to Soviet Satellites (1986)
Eventually this produces new policies
on military aid and political interventions
in the region.Reagan and Gorbachev Resolve (October 1986)
Both resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe.Reagan and Gorbachev Sign a Treaty (October 1987)
Reagan and Gorbachev agree to remove all medium and
short-range nuclear missiles by signing a treaty.Soviet Troops Withdraw From Afghanistan
(January 1989)
The last Soviet troops left on February 15th, 1989.China Puts Down Protests for Democracy;
Poland Becomes Independent (June 1989).Communist Governments Fall in Czechoslovakia,
Bulgaria, And Romania; Soviet Empire Ends
(December 1989).Germany Reunited (October 3rd, 1990)Warsaw Pact Ends (April 1991)Periods
Iranian Hostage Crisis
(November 4th, 1979- January 20th, 1981)
The Iranian anti-American feelings
are so strong that militants storm
the American embassy in Tehran and
take 52 as hostage.Iranian-Contra Affair
(August 20th, 1985-March 4th, 1987)
A secret U.S. government arms
deal that freed the American
hostages held in Lebanon but also
funded the armed conflict in
Central America.Franklin Delano Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States
March 4th, 1933-January 12th, 1945
Dies in officeHarry S. Truman
33rd President of the United States
April 12th, 1945-January 20th, 1953
Takes office upon the death Franklin D. RooseveltDwight D. Eisenhower (Ike)
34th President of the United States
January 20th, 1953-January 20th, 1961
An American army general and statesmanJohn F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States
January 20th, 1961-November 22nd, 1963
Assassinated in Dallas, TexasLyndon Johnson
36th President of the United States
November 22nd, 1963-January 20th, 1969
Becomes president due to the assassination of JFKRichard Nixon
37th President of the United States
January 20th, 1969-August 9th, 1974
Resigns from office due to Watergate,
being the only President to resign from officeGerald Ford
38th President of the United States
August 9th, 1974-January 20th, 1977
Becomes President after resignationJimmy Carter
39th President of the United States
January 20th, 1977-January 20th, 1981
Served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975Ronald Reagan
40th President of the United States
January 20th, 1981-January 20th, 1989
Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of CaliforniaJoseph StalinNikita KhrushchevLeonid Brezhnev
October 14th, 1964-November 10th, 1982Mikhail Gorbachev
March 10th, 1985-August 24th, 1991The Iron Curtain (March 5th, 1946-1990/end of the Cold War)
A term coined by Winston Churchill for the political barrier isolating
Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe from Western Europe. It began at
the start of the Cold War and ceased to exist by the end of the war.
Comments