Timeline of Significant Events
1856: The treaty of amity, commerce, navigation and limits is signed by the Argentine Confederation and Paraguay on July 29.
1865: The treaty of alliance against Paraguay is signed by Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay on May 1.
1878: The convention of defensive alliance between Great Britain and Turkey is signed on June 4.
1881: The Austro-Serbian alliance of 1881 is signed on June 16 to protect Serbia from the Russian sphere of influence, exacerbat-
ing tensions ahead of World War I.
1882: Germany and Austria-Hungary form the Triple Alliance on May 20.
1896: Russia and China sign the Sino-Russian secret treaty of alliance on June 3.
20 THCENTURY1904: Convention respecting Morocco is agreed upon between France and Spain on October 3.
1907: A general treaty of peace and amity is concluded at the Central American Peace Conference on December 20.
1908: The Root-Takahira exchange of notes occurs between the United States and Japan on November 30.
1914: World War I commences with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on June 28.
Bulgaria signs treaties of alliance with the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire on August 19.
1916: The battle of the Somme takes place from July 1 to November 13, inflicting huge losses on the Allies and the Central Pow-
ers, with roughly one million total casualties.
1917: The Russian Revolution begins with the replacement of the Romanov monarchy with a provisional government on March 2
(old calendar), culminating with the Bolshevik coup d’état on October 26.
1918: Russia withdraws from World War I and loses extensive territory upon signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3,
spurring civil war between the Bolshevik Reds and nationalist, anticommunist Whites.
The armistice ending World War I is signed on November 11.
1923: Estonia and Latvia sign a defense pact on November 1.
1925: Turkey signs a treaty of friendship and neutrality with the Soviet Union on December 17.
1930: The United Kingdom concludes a treaty of preferential alliance with the Kingdom of Iraq on June 30.
1932: Non-aggression pacts are signed by the Soviet Union with Finland (January 21), Latvia (February 5), Estonia (May 4), and
Poland (July 25).
1933: Adolf Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30.
1934: Yemen and Saudi Arabia sign the Treaty of Taif on May 20, ending conflict between the two countries, demarking their
borders, and endorsing the concept of Arab brotherhood and cooperation. Jordan joins the treaty on August 29, 1962.
1939: Germany signs a series of non-aggression pacts, with Denmark on May 31 and Estonia and Latvia on June 7.
The secret Hitler-Stalin pact is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, identifying respective spheres
of influence, particularly in Poland, in advance of central European conquests later that year by both powers. Warsaw falls
to the Nazis on September 27.
1940: Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Three-Power Pact on September 27.
1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor on December 7. The United States responds with a declaration of war on December 8.
1942: The United Kingdom begins its bombing campaign over Germany on May 30.
The Japanese navy is defeated in the Battle of Midway, which ends June 7.
1943: Axis forces surrender in Tunisia, ending the North African campaign on May 13, 1943.
1944: The Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s ultimately failed bid to reclaim Belgium, begins on December 16. The Allies are victori-
ous in the battle by the end of January.
1945: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin attend the Yalta Conference from February 4 to February 11, plan-
ning the collective administration of Germany, the establishment of the United Nations, and apparently representative
elections for Axis and liberated European states now under Soviet control.
The League of Arab States is formed on March 22.
Germany surrenders to the western Allies on May 7, and to the Soviet Union on May 9.
The founding charter for the United Nations is signed on June 26.
Japan surrenders on August 15, following the release of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1947: U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall presents the Marshall Plan on June 5 to provide reconstruction aid to Europe.
1948: The Organization of American States is established on April 30.
The Berlin airlift begins on June 26, supplying West Berlin through the duration of its blockade by the Soviet Union, which
ends May 12, 1959.
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