Special Sub-Topic: Important Dates in World History Click Here To Play: Important Dates in World History

When did Joseph Stalin die?

5 March 1953. Georgi Malenkov, designated by Stalin himself, succeeded as Chairman of Council of Ministers.

Treaty of Lausanne was signed on:

24 July 1923. This was a peace settlement in 1923, between Greece and Turkey after Turkey refused to accept the terms of the Treaty of Sevres 1920, which would have made peace with the western Allies.

When was West Germany admitted as a member of NATO?

9 May 1955.

Air raids by Japan on Rangoon:

22 December 1941.

The Battle of Solomons started on:

25 August 1942.

When was Mussolini executed?

28 April 1945.

When was the July Plot hatched?

20 July 1944. Colonel von Stauffenberg planted a bomb under the conference table at Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia.

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was launched on:

4 March 1943.

The Potsdam Conference was held from what dates?

17 July-2 August 1945. It was held between representatives of the USA, the UK and the USSR. They established the political and economic principles governing the treatment of Germany in the initial period of Allied control at the end of World War II, and sent an ultimatum to Japan demanding unconditional surrender on to be ready for utter destruction.

The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya broke out on:

20 October 1952. It was an offshoot of the Kikuyu Central Association that was banned in World War II. Its aim was to end British colonial rule.

When did the Boer War start?

9 October 1899. The War, between 1899-1902, also known as the Boer War, was preceded by the armed Jameson Raid into the Boer {Transvaal;} it was a failed attempt,inspired by the Cape Colony Prime Minister Rhodes, to precipitate a revolt against Kruger, the Transvaal President.

On what date did the Coronation of Charles II take place?

23 April 1661.

The United Arab Republic(Egypt and Syria) was proclaimed on?

1 February 1958. It was broken in 1961. Egypt continued to use the name after the breakup, until 1971.

When did Nikita Khrushchev 'torpedo' the Summit Talks in Paris?

16 May 1960. Khrushchev used the U-2 incident to break up the Summit because President Eisenhower refused to give a public apology for the incident and also refused to pledge that there would be no further intrusions into Soviet air space. The summit was also attended by Harold Macmillan of UK and Charles de Gaulle of France.

When did Winston Churchill deliver the Iron Curtain Speech?

5 March 1946. Winston Churchill, the former British PM delivered the speech in Fulton, Missouri,USA. He declared that Stalin has lowered an 'iron curtain....from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic', and warned that the USSR was aiming for 'the infinite expansion of ts power and doctrines'. For many his speech symbolised the formal start of the Cold War.

The Battle of Blenheim was fought on:

13 August 1704. In the War of the Spanish Succession, this was a decisive victory of Allied troops under Marlborough over French and Bavarian armies near the Bavarian village of Blenheim (now in Germany) on the left bank of the Danube. Although the war was to continue for a further eight years, Blenheim marked the turning point at which the power of France was first broken.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan took place on:

25 December 1979. Amin was executed and Babrak Karmal (1929- ), the exiled leader of the gradualist Parcham (banner) faction of the PDPA, was installed as leader. The numbers of Soviet forces in Afghanistan grew to over 120,000 by 1985, as Muslim guerrilla resistance by the Mujaheddin 'holy warriors' continued. A war of attrition developed, with the USSR failing to gain control of rural areas.

When was Prince Norodom Sihanouk overthrown in Cambodia?

18 March 1970. The coup d'etat was led by Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge Party.

When did the Indo-Pakistan War end?

17 December 1971. The war resulted in the seperation of East Pakistan from Pakistan, which became independent and is now known as Bangladesh.

When were the Nuremberg Laws passed?

15 September 1935. As a result of the Nuremberg Laws, the Jews lost most of their civil rights, and the Swastika was made the country's official flag.

When was the Strategic Defense Initiative announced?

23 March 1983. Better known as Star Wars, it was an attempt by the USA to develop a defense system against incoming nuclear missiles. It was based in part, outside the Earth's atmosphere. It was announced by President Ronald Reagan.

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?

3 March 1918. The Bilateral Treaty was signed between Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, and their allies. Under its terms, Russia agreed to recognize the independence of Georgia, the Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States, and to pay heavy compensation.

When was Battle of Passchendaele launched?

31 July 1917. In World War I, this was a successful but costly British operation to capture the Passchendaele ridge in western Flanders. it was a part of the third battle of Ypres Oct-Nov 1917. British casualties numbered nearly 400,000. The name is often erroneously applied to the whole of the battle of Ypres, but Passchendaele was in fact just part of that battle.

When was the Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye signed?

10 September 1919. This 1919 treaty condemned the war between Austria and the Allies, and was signed at St Germain-en-Laye. Representatives of the USA signed it, but because the US Senate failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of St Germain was not submitted to it. The USA made a separate peace with Austria in 1921.

When was Operation Battleaxe launched?

15 June 1941. In World War II, this was an unsuccessful British offensive in the Western Desert intended to relieve Tobruk and recapture Cyrenaica. Three columns were used in the attack, one advancing toward the Halfaya Pass,one to Capuzzo, and one inland to the Hafid Ridge.