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Archduke Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated by Bosnian serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. Serbia is suspected by Austria.
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Austria-Hungary declares war with Serbia, officially starting World War 1.
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A British ocean liner is sunk by Germany who claims it was fair game since there was war munitions on board. 1,198 people died.
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A telegram from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman to Mexico was intercepted by Britain. The message said that Germany would help Mexico regain some of its territory that the US stole from Mexico.
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The United States Congress declares war after Wilson writes Congress a letter asking to go to war with Germany after Britain intercepted a telegram from Germany to Mexico addressing going to war with the US.
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President Wilson signs the Selective Services Act because he saw no other way to gain more troops for war.
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Germany signs a armistice with Britain and France that ended the First World War.
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Adolf Hitler invades Poland, saying the attack was out of defense. However, other countries disagreed, and the invasion sparked the beginning of World War II.
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Two days after the invasion of Poland by German forces, both Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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Germany attacks lower European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
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Japanese Airplanes attack the US base at Pearl Harbor, sinking crucial ships and sparking US involvement in World War II.
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Two days after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, China declares war on Japan, furthering the war in the Pacific Ocean.
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Four days after Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war on Japan by the United States, Germany and Italy declare war on the United States, the first time Germany declares war on another country.
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Allied forces invade Normandy by water. Operation Neptune was deemed a success, and North-West Europe was liberated from Nazi forces.
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United States forces cross into Germany for the first time, one month after Soviet forces cross into Germany.
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Nazi Germany surrenders, ending the Second World War. A week before, Adolf Hitler allegedly committed suicide in his bunker.
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The United States use their first atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Japan.
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The second of the two bombs were dropped on Nagasaki, Japan by the United States with permission by Canada and Britain. Nagasaki was chosen because of its ship ports.
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Almost a month after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan surrendered, officially ending the Second World War.
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With permission from the Soviet Union, North Korea invades South Korea, and because of South Korea's weak military, they invade Seoul, the capital of South Korea, with ease.
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Harry Truman sends troops to Korea to prevent communism spreading to South Korea, among another countries.
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Gen. MacArthur orders UN forces to Korea/China border. He promised the troops would be home by Christmas, but they were attacked and had to retreat.
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General MacArthur is fired because he believes that bombing China should be the next step in the Korean War. Truman believes this will perpetuate the war.
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General Eisenhower wins the presidency partly on the promise of ending the war in Korea.
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The two countries agree to end fighting. They also agree to a demilitarized zone between the two countries to create a neutral zone, which is still there today.
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Kennedy wins the election in November 1960 against Richard Nixon.
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Ngo Dinh Diem is reelected President of South Vietnam with 89% of the vote, but many question if the election was fair.
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The United States failed to successfully invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. The invasion was sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency.
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A day after his government was overthrown, he was killed in an armored van.
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President Kennedy is assassinated by a collaboration with the CIA and the Mob to prevent breakup of the Central Intelligence Agency, who received criticism from the President over the Bay of Pigs debacle.
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An alleged torpedo destroyed the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. This event is seen by some as the turning point with the conflict with Vietnam.
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Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech entitled Beyond Vietnam, which protested the Vietnam War and the United States' stance on the situation in Asia. It coincidentally occurred on the same day as his assassination, only the speech was one year before.
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During the Vietnamese New Year, a cease fire was declared. However,North Vietnam attacked main cities in South Vietnam.
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American soldiers attack a village they think are filled with enemies, but instead kill ally children and women, hidden from the public until the next year.
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Operation Breakfast, or Menu, was started in Cambodia, unbeknownst to the American public. When they found out about the secret bombing of Cambodia the following year, it resulted in widespread protest, including Kent State.
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The Ohio National Guard gun down four protesters at Kent State, protesting the latest bombings in Cambodia.
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The 26th amendment allows people 18 and older to vote.
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The Paris Peace Accords were signed by North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the US, and the South Vietnam revolutionary group PRG, or the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
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Nixon resigns after the Watergate scandal when the Watergate hotel was burglarized, more specifically the Democratic National Committee, to steal secrets on their plans in the upcoming 1976 election.
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The capture of South Vietnam's capital, Saigon, signaled the end of the Vietnam War
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Hussein warns Kuwait to stop overproduction of oil; overproducing drove prices down and cut Iraq's profits.
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Saddam Hussein orchestrates a surprise attack on Kuwait Hussein claims victory days later.
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Just four days after Hussein invades Kuwait, the United States Air Force arrives in Saudi Arabia.
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The UN tells Saddam Hussein he has until January 15, 1991 to leave Kuwait
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The Civil War starts in Somalia when rebel groups overthrow the Barre government. The Civil War continues to this day.
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The United States goes into Kuwait to try to remove Hussein and Iraq, the battle lasts four days.
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After 100 hours of fighting, Iraq declares a ceasefire and Iraqi forces leave Kuwait
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In June of 1991, both Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia.
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The European Union recognizes Bosnia's independence. The Serbs then occupy Sarajevo, the capital city, and kill and persecute Muslims
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Resolution 751 authorized humanitarian aid to Somalian people who were suffering from extreme poverty.
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Approved a coalition of UN peacekeepers, which established the Unified Task Force.
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George HW Bush complies with Resolution 794 which states the United States will "create a secure environment for humanitarian efforts in Somalia."
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Somalian factions conferred at the Conference on National Reconciliation in Somalia to end the civil war, but it had little effect in stopping the war.
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Battle between the US and Somalian militia fighters. This battle was then used as a basis for the movie Black Hawk Down.
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An attack killing 68 and wounding more than 200 occurred in a Sarajevo Marketplace.
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In Srebrenica, Bosnia, more than 8,300 people were killed in a "Muslim Safe Haven" declared by the United Nations
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The United Nations charges 21 Serb Commanders with crimes against humanity and genocide, the first time that there are charges against the Serbs.
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After realizing that the cause was lost because of having less men, Slobodan Milosevic goes to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to talk. They came out with an agreement that included war criminals being handed over to the US government and the return of democratic elections.
