December 19: The United Kingdom establishes the Sultanate of Egypt as a protectorate.

Tags: British Empire, Imperialism, Protectorate, Colonialism, World War I

Harry Brearley invents a process to create Martensitic stainless steel, initially labelled Rustless Steel, later marketed as Staybrite, and AISI Type ...

Tags: Metallurgy, Materials Science, Industrial Revolution, World War I

December 6: Liberal David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, World War I, Liberal Party, Government, British Empire

December 30: Grigori Rasputin is assassinated in Russia.

Tags: Assassination, Russian Empire, World War I, Political Intrigue, Tsar Nicholas II, Romanov Dynasty, Monarchy, Political Instability, Conspiracy

March 8: Russian Revolution ends the Russian Empire; beginning of Russian Civil War.

Tags: Russian Revolution, Russian Empire, Tsar Nicholas II, Civil War, Bolsheviks, World War I, Political Instability, Revolution

December 6: Independence of Finland.

Tags: Independence, Nationalism, World War I, Russian Revolution, Self-determination

January 22: Ukraine declares independence from Russia.

Tags: Independence, Nationalism, World War I, Russian Empire, Self-determination, Revolution, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

July 4: Mehmed VI becomes the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the last Caliph.

Tags: Ottoman Empire, Sultan, Caliphate, World War I, Succession, Islamic World, Decline

July 16 – 17: Assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

Tags: Russian Revolution, Romanov Dynasty, Bolsheviks, Civil War, Communism, Political Violence, Monarchy, World War I

October: the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs is established.

Tags: World War I, Nationalism, Self-determination, Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia

October 29: German Revolution begins.

Tags: Revolution, World War I, Weimar Republic, Political Upheaval, Socialism, Political Instability

November 9: Abdication of Wilhelm II.

Tags: World War I, German Empire, Abdication, Weimar Republic, Monarchy, Political Transition

Paris Peace Conference writes Treaty of Versailles that punishes Germany.

Tags: World War I, Treaty, Peace Treaty, Post-War, League of Nations, Interwar Period

March 2: Communist International established in the Kremlin to coordinate Communist parties worldwide.

Tags: Communism, Soviet Union, Political Ideology, Cold War, Revolution, Moscow, World War I

August 11: German Revolution ends with the collapse of the German Empire and the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

Tags: Weimar Republic, World War I, Empire, Republic, Political Transition, Post-War, Treaty of Versailles

January 10: League of Nations founded.

Tags: International Relations, Peacekeeping, World War I, Diplomacy, Treaty of Versailles, Woodrow Wilson, Multilateralism, Post-War

April 25: Mandatory Palestine established.

Tags: Mandate System, British Empire, Zionism, World War I, Ottoman Empire, Colonialism, League of Nations

October 28: March on Rome brings Benito Mussolini to power in Italy.

Tags: Fascism, Benito Mussolini, Totalitarianism, Interwar Period, World War II

December 30: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the world's first officially Communist state, is formed.

Tags: Communism, Soviet Union, USSR, Russian Revolution, Ideology, Vladimir Lenin, Totalitarianism, Cold War

The Fischer–Tropsch process is developed by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung.

Tags: Chemical Engineering, Industrial Revolution, World War II

The Yagi-Uda Antenna or simply Yagi Antenna is invented by Shintaro Uda of Tohoku Imperial University, assisted by his colleague Hidetsugu Yagi. The Y...

Tags: Radio Technology, Wireless Communication, World War II, Telecommunications

November 12: Soviet general secretary Joseph Stalin becomes dictator of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Dictatorship, Communism, Totalitarianism, Soviet Union, Stalinism, Political Power, Joseph Stalin, Authoritarianism, Cold War

Frank Whittle formally submitted his ideas for a turbo-jet engine. In October 1929, he developed his ideas further. On 16 January 1930, Whittle submit...

Tags: Aviation, World War II, Patent

July 24: The Kellogg–Briand Pact is signed in Paris.

Tags: Diplomacy, International Relations, Peace Treaty, Interwar Period, World War I, United States of America, Multilateralism

February: Leon Trotsky is exiled.

Tags: Soviet Union, Communism, Political Purges, Exile, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Russian Revolution, Totalitarianism, Cold War

December 19: BBC World Service starts broadcasting.

Tags: Media, Communication, World War II, Propaganda, International Relations

January 30: Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.

Tags: Nazism, Fascism, Adolf Hitler, Weimar Republic, Political Power, Totalitarianism, World War II, Political Transition, Dictatorship

March 27: Japan announces it will leave the League of Nations.

Tags: League of Nations, Japanese Empire, International Relations, Diplomacy, Interwar Period, Nationalism, Expansionism, World War II

October 14: Germany announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference, after the U.S., the U.K. and France deny...

Tags: World War II, League of Nations, Weimar Republic, International Relations, Diplomacy, Political Tensions

July 25: Engelbert Dollfuss, Chancellor of Austria, is shot dead as part of a failed Nazi coup d'état.

Tags: Assassination, Nazism, Coup d'état, Interwar Period, Fascism, World War II, Failed Coup

August 2: With the death of Paul von Hindenburg, Hitler declares himself Führer of Germany.

Tags: Nazism, Totalitarianism, Dictatorship, World War II, Political Power, Leadership, Third Reich, Adolf Hitler, Weimar Republic

January 20: Edward VIII becomes King of the British Commonwealth and Emperor of India.

Tags: British Empire, Monarchy, Succession, Commonwealth, World War II, Imperialism

May 28: Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Appeasement, World War II, Parliament

June 15: Hungarian newspaper editor László Bíró fills a British patent of the first commercially successful ballpoint pen. This would popularize the i...

Tags: Patent, Design, World War II, Post-War, Consumer Goods

Z1, built by Konrad Zuse, is the first freely programmable computer in the world.

Tags: Computer Science, Early Computing, Mechanical Computer, World War II, Digital Revolution

March 12: Anschluss unifies Germany and Austria.

Tags: Nazism, World War II, Expansionism, Annexation, Dictatorship, Adolf Hitler, Political Union, Nationalism, Appeasement, Interwar Period

July 6–15: Évian Conference ends with all attendee nations save the Dominican Republic refusing to accept more Jewish refugees from the Third Reich.

Tags: World War II, Holocaust, Refugees, Anti-Semitism, International Relations, Diplomacy, Third Reich, Human Rights

September 30: Munich Agreement hands Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany.

Tags: Appeasement, Nazi Germany, World War II, Czechoslovakia, Adolf Hitler, Treaty, Diplomacy

December: Time Magazine declares Adolf Hitler as Man of the Year.

Tags: Propaganda, Nazism, Fascism, World War II, Adolf Hitler, Media, Global Impact

August 23: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union.

Tags: World War II, Appeasement, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Diplomacy, Totalitarianism, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin

John Randall and Harry Boot would develop the high power, microwave generating, cavity magnetron, later applied to commercial Radar and Microwave oven...

Tags: World War II, Radio Technology, Physics, Electromagnetism

May 10: Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: World War II, Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, British Empire, Allies

August 20: Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico.

Tags: Assassination, Cold War, Communism, Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky, Political Violence, Stalinism, Exile

June 1: First operational electronic computer, Colossus, comes online.

Tags: World War II, Cryptography, Computer Science, Information Technology, Military Technology

February 4 – 11: Yalta Conference.

Tags: World War II, Diplomacy, Allied Powers, Soviet Union, Cold War, Divided Germany, International Relations

April 12: Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; Vice President Harry Truman assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, World War II, Succession, Political Transition, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Cold War

April 28: Execution of Benito Mussolini.

Tags: World War II, Fascism, Dictatorship, Benito Mussolini, Execution, Political Violence, Axis Powers

June 26: United Nations founded (UN Charter).

Tags: United Nations, Post-World War II, Diplomacy, Global Governance, Multilateralism, Peacekeeping, World War II, Allied Powers, San Francisco

July – August: The Potsdam Conference divides Europe into Western and Soviet blocs.

Tags: Cold War, Post-World War II, Geopolitics, Soviet Union, Iron Curtain, International Relations, Winston Churchill

August 17: Independence of Indonesia proclaimed beginning the Indonesian National Revolution.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Nationalism, Revolution, World War II, Post-War, Sukarno, Dutch East Indies

James Martin invents the ejector seat, inspired by the death of his friend and test pilot Captain Valentine Baker in an aeroplane crash in 1942.

Tags: Aviation, World War II, Military Technology, Safety

Breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager in Bell X-1.

Tags: Aviation, Aerospace, World War II, Cold War

March 12: Harry Truman establishes the Truman Doctrine of containment of Communism.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Containment, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Ideology

July 26: Creation of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Tags: Cold War, Intelligence, Espionage, National Security, Post-World War II, Covert Operations, Geopolitics, Foreign Policy, CIA

February 4: Independence of Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from Britain.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, British Empire, Nationalism, Self-determination, Political Transition, Cold War

August – September: Division of North and South Korea.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Democracy, United Nations, Korean War, Geopolitics, Post-World War II

May 23: Creation of NATO-backed Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Tags: Cold War, NATO, Post-World War II, Federalism, Western Bloc, Geopolitics, Reconstruction

October 1: Chinese Communist Revolution: Establishment of the People's Republic of China under CCP Chairman Mao Zedong; The Republic of China relocate...

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong, Chinese Civil War, Republic of China, Political Revolution, Post-World War II

Partition of Kashmir.

Tags: Post-Colonialism, Partition, Kashmir, Border Disputes, Cold War, Regional Conflict, Geopolitics, United Nations, Self-determination

November 17: Lhamo Dondrub assumes full political powers as the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Tags: Dalai Lama, Tibet, Religious Leadership, Cold War, Exile, Buddhism, Theocracy

October 26: Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Post-War, Cold War, British Politics

May: Bonn–Paris conventions end allied occupation of West Germany.

Tags: Post-War, Cold War, Occupation, West Germany, International Relations, Sovereignty, Allied Powers

July 23: Egyptian Revolution under Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrows King Farouk and ends British occupation.

Tags: Revolution, Cold War, Nationalism, Decolonization, British Empire, Monarchy, Political Change

The Slansky Trial in Czechoslovakia.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Czechoslovakia, Stalinism, Eastern Bloc, Purge, Political Repression

January 20: Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: President, Inauguration, Cold War, Government, Executive Branch

March 5: Death of Stalin.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Stalinism, Dictatorship, Communist Party, Post-War

June 16 – 17: An East German Uprising leads to the arrest and execution of Lavrentiy Beria; power struggle begins between Georgy Malenkov and Nikita K...

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, East Germany, Rebellion, Political Purge, Nikita Khrushchev, Eastern Bloc

August 19: Mohammed Mossadeq deposed in Iran.

Tags: Cold War, Coup d'état, CIA, Nationalization, Democracy, Oil, Geopolitics

November 9: Independence of Cambodia.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Cold War, Nationalism

September 14: The Soviet Union generates first electricity by nuclear power.

Tags: Soviet Union, Cold War, Energy, Atomic Age, USSR

April 18 – 24: Bandung Conference.

Tags: Decolonization, Cold War, International Relations, Diplomacy, Post-Colonialism

After winning the power struggle that followed Stalin's death two years earlier, Nikita Khrushchev assumes control of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, Power Struggle, Communism, USSR

October 29 – November 7: Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal triggers the Suez crisis.

Tags: Cold War, Nationalization, Decolonization, Middle East Conflict, Suez Canal, International Relations, Imperialism, United Nations

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, is launched.

Tags: Space Race, Soviet Union, Cold War, Space Exploration, Satellite, Geopolitics

January 10: Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Cold War, British Empire, Conservative Party

March 6: Independence of Ghana from Britain.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, British Empire, Nationalism, Self-determination, Cold War

August 31: Independence of the Federation of Malaya.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Malaysia, British Empire, Cold War, Nationalism, Post-Colonialism

October 2: Guinea gains independence from France.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, French Empire, Political Transition, Nationalism, Cold War, Pan-Africanism

November: Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) founded. CND's symbol, the peace sign, is first used.

Tags: Cold War, Peace, Activism, Protest

January 1: Cuban Revolution ends.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Communism, Dictatorship, Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, Political Change

March 10 – 23: Uprising in Tibet against China leads to the exile of the Dalai Lama.

Tags: Cold War, Tibet, Dalai Lama, Exile, Religious Violence, Political Conflict, Buddhism, Human Rights

May 1: 1960 U-2 incident sparks deterioration in relations between superpowers.

Tags: Cold War, Espionage, Soviet Union, Diplomacy, Intelligence, Arms Race, International Relations, Khrushchev

Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes Prime Minister of Ceylon and the first female Prime Minister in the world.

Tags: Prime Minister, Ceylon, Political Leadership, Post-Colonialism, Cold War

Year of Africa: Independence of 17 African nations.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence Movements, Cold War, Pan-Africanism, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Transition, Self-determination, African History

Khrushchev withdraws Soviet cooperation with China, initiating the Sino-Soviet split.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Soviet Union, Ideology, Geopolitics, Khrushchev, Mao Zedong, International Relations, Political Division

January 17: The assassination of Patrice Lumumba begins the Congo Crisis.

Tags: Cold War, Decolonization, African History, Political Assassination, Proxy War, United Nations

January 20: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Cold War, John F. Kennedy, American History, Leadership, Democracy, Inauguration

August 13: Construction of the Berlin Wall.

Tags: Cold War, East Germany, West Germany, Berlin, Iron Curtain, Divided Germany, Political Division, Communism, Soviet Union

March 19: The Algerian War ends with the independence of Algeria.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Nationalism, Cold War, Post-Colonialism, Charles de Gaulle

July 26: Launch of the first geostationary satellite, Syncom 2.

Tags: Space Race, Telecommunications, Cold War, Space Exploration, Communication

November 2: 1963 South Vietnamese coup: Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese President.

Tags: Cold War, Vietnam War, Coup d'état, Political Assassination, South Vietnam, Anti-Communism, Proxy Wars

November 22: Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Assassination, Presidency, Cold War, Political Violence, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, American History

December 10 – 12: Independence of Kenya and Zanzibar and creation of Malaysia.

Tags: Decolonization, Independence, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, British Empire, Cold War, Kenya, Malaysia, Self-determination

March 31 – April 1: A coup d'état establishes a military dictatorship in Brazil.

Tags: Military Coup, Dictatorship, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Coup d'état

October 14: Leonid Brezhnev ousts Khrushchev and assumes power in the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Leadership Change, Khrushchev, USSR, Communist Party

January 24: Death of Winston Churchill.

Tags: World War II, Cold War, British Empire, Prime Minister, Leadership, Legacy

August 9: Singapore gains independence.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Cold War, Nation Building, Post-Colonialism, Self-determination

September 30: 30 September Movement in the Indonesia.

Tags: Cold War, Anti-Communism, Coup, Purge, Sukarno, Human Rights, Mass Violence

November 24 – 25: Congo Crisis ends; Joseph Mobutu becomes dictator of the Congo.

Tags: Cold War, Dictatorship, Military Coup, Zaire, Post-Colonialism, African Politics, Political Instability, Authoritarianism

December 30: Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.

Tags: Presidency, Cold War, Authoritarianism, Government

April 21: Greek military coup establishes a military dictatorship led by Georgios Papadopoulos. The dictatorship ends in 1974.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Coup d'état, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Human Rights

August 8: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) founded.

Tags: Regionalism, International Relations, Cold War, Political Cooperation, Economic Development, Diplomacy, Post-Colonialism

December – Apollo 8 orbits the Moon with three NASA astronauts, becoming the first human spaceflight mission to enter the gravitational influence of a...

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Cold War, Space Race, Astronauts, Moon, Human Spaceflight

The Years of Lead, a period of social turmoil, political violence, and upheaval in Italy, begin.

Tags: Political Violence, Terrorism, Social Unrest, Cold War, Political Instability

October 29: Creation of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the earliest incarnation of the Internet.

Tags: Internet, Computer Science, Networking, Information Technology, Digital Revolution, Cold War, Development, Communication

January 20: Richard Nixon is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Cold War, Richard Nixon, American History, Executive Branch

September 1: Muammar Gaddafi overthrows King Idris of Libya in a Coup d'état and establishes the Libyan Arab Republic.

Tags: Coup d'état, Revolution, Dictatorship, Pan-Arabism, Cold War, Muammar Gaddafi, Post-Colonialism, Political Transition

April 11: Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched toward the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Moon Landing, Cold War, Space Race, Astronauts

March 5: Ratification of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Tags: Nuclear Weapons, Arms Control, Cold War, Treaty, International Relations, Nuclear Proliferation, Global Security

October 15: Anwar Sadat becomes President of Egypt.

Tags: Leadership, President, Cold War, Arab World

The first space station, Salyut 1, is launched.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, Soviet Union, Space Station, Astronomy

October 27: Joseph Mobutu renames The Republic of the Congo Zaire.

Tags: Decolonization, Dictatorship, Cold War, African History, Post-Colonialism, Mobutu Sese Seko, Nationalism, Political Transition, Zaire

COINTELPRO officially ends.

Tags: FBI, Surveillance, Political Repression, Civil Rights Movement, Activism, Cold War, Intelligence, Covert Operations

February 21 – 28: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon makes an unprecedented 8-day visit to the People's Republic of China and meets with Mao Zedong.

Tags: Cold War, Diplomacy, Mao Zedong, Detente, Foreign Policy

May 26: Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT I treaty in Moscow, as well as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and other agreements.

Tags: Cold War, Nuclear Arms Race, Arms Control, Richard Nixon, Treaty, International Relations, Diplomacy

May 14: The first space station, Skylab, is launched.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, NASA, Astronauts, Space Station, Scientific Advancement

January 1: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Integration, Post-War, Cold War, International Relations, Trade, Expansion

September 11: 1973 Chilean coup d'état.

Tags: Cold War, Coup d'état, Military Dictatorship, Socialism, Democracy, Human Rights

April 25: Carnation Revolution in Portugal begins transition to democracy.

Tags: Revolution, Democracy, Political Transition, Cold War, Authoritarianism, Colonialism, Military Coup

August 1: The Helsinki Accords, which officially recognize Europe's national borders and respect for human rights, are signed in Finland.

Tags: Cold War, Human Rights, Detente, International Relations, Soviet Union, Diplomacy

Death of Mao Zedong.

Tags: Communist China, Cold War, Chinese Communist Party, Political Transition, Cultural Revolution, Leadership Change, Post-Mao Era

Church Committee, a U.S. Senate select committee that investigated abuses by the CIA, NSA, FBI and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tags: Ancient rome, Intelligence Agencies, CIA, FBI, Investigations, Cold War

January 20: Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Cold War, Foreign Policy

September 5: German Autumn: Red Army Faction abduction of Hanns Martin Schleyer.

Tags: Terrorism, Political Violence, Cold War, West Germany, Kidnapping, Extremism

October 19: Suicide of members of Baader-Meinhoff Group and murder of Hanns Martin Schleyer ends crisis in West Germany.

Tags: Terrorism, Cold War, West Germany, Political Violence, Crisis

The Global Positioning System (GPS) enters service. While not the first Satellite navigation system, it is the first to enter widespread civilian use.

Tags: Navigation, United States Military, Cold War, Space Race

September 17: The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.

Tags: Peace Treaty, Diplomacy, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Anwar Sadat, Cold War, International Relations

February 11: The Iranian Revolution ends. Shah Reza Pahlavi is overthrown and forced into exile.

Tags: Revolution, Shah, Theocracy, Political Upheaval, Cold War

May 4: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Tags: Prime Minister, Conservative Party, Gender Equality, Cold War, Political Leadership

October 26: Assassination of Park Chung Hee, President of South Korea.

Tags: Cold War, Presidential Assassination, Dictatorship, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Military Coup

November 4: The Iran hostage crisis begins.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Diplomacy, Hostage Crisis, International Relations, Political Conflict

August 31: Solidarity union forms at Poland's Gdańsk Shipyard under Lech Wałęsa, and begins agitation for greater personal freedoms.

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Human Rights, Lech Wałęsa, Socialism, Political Protest

April 12: First orbital flight of the Space Shuttle.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Shuttle Program, Aerospace Engineering, Cold War, Scientific Advancement

The first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle undergoes test flights ahead of full operation in 1982.

Tags: Space Exploration, Aerospace Engineering, NASA, Space Race, Cold War, Orbital Mechanics

January 1: Greece joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Union, European Integration, Political Alliances, International Relations, Economic Development, Cold War, Post-War

January 20: Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as President of the United States. Iran releases the 52 U.S. hostages held in Tehran after 444 days.

Tags: Presidency, Hostage Crisis, Cold War, Diplomacy, Ronald Reagan

March 30: Assassination attempt on U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Reagan Administration, Cold War

May 13: Pope John Paul II assassination attempt.

Tags: Assassination, Pope John Paul II, Cold War, Terrorism, Religion, International Relations, Catholicism

October 6: Assassination of Anwar Sadat.

Tags: Assassination, Anwar Sadat, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Islamist Extremism, Cold War

December 13: Martial law in Poland begins.

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Solidarity, Communism, Political Repression, Polish People's Republic, Human Rights, Soviet Union

November 10 – 15: Death of Leonid Brezhnev; Yuri Andropov becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Communist Party, Leadership Change, Succession, Eastern Bloc

December 10: End of dictatorship in Argentina.

Tags: Democracy, Dictatorship, Cold War, Human Rights, Military Rule

October 31: Assassination of Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister.

Tags: Assassination, Prime Minister, Political Violence, Cold War, Indian National Congress, Political Instability

March 11: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Communism, Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika, Glasnost, Political Transition

March 15: End of military leadership in Brazil.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Democratization, Cold War, Authoritarianism

August 20: Beginning of the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administra...

Tags: Scandal, Cold War, Reagan Administration, Covert Operations, International Relations, Political Corruption

January 1: Portugal and Spain joins the European Communities.

Tags: European Union, European Integration, Trade, International Relations, Cold War

February 22 – 25: The People Power Revolution leads to the end of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

Tags: Revolution, Dictatorship, Democracy, Cold War, Political Transition

February 28: Assassination of Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Cold War, Prime Minister, International Relations

October 11 – October 12: A breakthrough in nuclear arms control at the Reykjavík Summit.

Tags: Cold War, Nuclear Arms Race, Arms Control, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Union

October 19: Samora Machel, the first President of Mozambique, dies in a plane crash.

Tags: Cold War, Decolonization, Plane Crash, Presidency, Apartheid

November 3: The Iran–Contra affair publicly announced.

Tags: Political Scandal, Cold War, Covert Operations, Reagan Administration, Nicaragua, National Security, Executive Branch, Foreign Policy

June 10 – 29: The June Democratic Struggle, a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea, leads to democratic reforms and an end to authoritaria...

Tags: Democracy, Protest, Authoritarianism, Political Reform, Human Rights, Cold War, Social Movements

January 2: Beginning of the perestroika ("restructuring"), a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during ...

Tags: Soviet Union, Perestroika, Glasnost, Cold War, Mikhail Gorbachev, Communism, Political Reform

January 13: Lee Teng-hui takes control of Taiwan and oversee end of martial law and full democratization of island.

Tags: Democratization, Martial Law, Political Transition, Cold War

October 5: Chile's Augusto Pinochet loses a national plebiscite on his rule.

Tags: Dictatorship, Democracy, Chile, Cold War, Political Transition, Human Rights

1988 Polish strikes.

Tags: Labor Unions, Cold War, Communism, Solidarity, Workers' Rights, Polish People's Republic, Political Protest, Eastern Bloc, Lech Wałęsa

Revolutions of 1989 bring down Communist and authoritarian regimes around the world.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Eastern Bloc, Democracy, Political Transition, Revolutions, Human Rights, Globalization, Iron Curtain

January 20: George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Elections, Cold War, Government, Inauguration

June 4, 1989: Polish elections led to a peaceful transition to democracy, while in Beijing, the Tiananmen Square protests ended with a military crackd...

Tags: Democracy, Human Rights, Communism, Cold War, Political Transition, Solidarity Movement, Tadeusz Mazowiecki

June 5: An unknown Chinese protester, "Tank Man", stands in front of a column of military tanks on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, temporarily halting the...

Tags: Political Protest, Human Rights, Cold War, Communism, Civil Disobedience

November 9: Fall of the Berlin Wall; the Revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc begin in Europe, which leads to the end of the Cold W...

Tags: Cold War, Eastern Bloc, Soviet Union, Democracy, Geopolitics, Iron Curtain

November 24: The Communist government of Czechoslovakia falls during the Velvet Revolution.

Tags: Communism, Democracy, Cold War, Czechoslovakia, Political Transition, Nonviolent Resistance

December 25: Romanian Revolution: Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu in Romania.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Revolution, Dictatorship, Political Violence, Human Rights, Romania

March 11: End of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile.

Tags: Dictatorship, Transition to Democracy, Human Rights, Political Reform, Cold War, Chilean History, Democratization, Military Rule

October 3: German reunification.

Tags: Cold War, German History, Political Transition, Nationalism, Eastern Bloc, Western Bloc, European Integration

July 10: Boris Yeltsin becomes the first President of Russia.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, Presidency, Democracy

August 19: Soviet coup attempt of 1991: A coup occurs in response to a new union treaty to be signed on August 20.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Coup d'état, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Perestroika, Glasnost

September 17: North and South Korea are admitted to the United Nations.

Tags: Cold War, United Nations, Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Development

December 26: Dissolution of the Soviet Union and independence of 15 former Soviet republics. Beginning of the Algerian Civil War.

Tags: Cold War, Soviet Union, Independence, Geopolitics, Civil War, Decolonization, Vladimir Putin