Nuclear Proliferation timeline
-
Advisory Committee on Uranium Holds Meeting Determining the Potential for Weaponizing of Uranium Ore
In August 1939, prominent physicists Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner drafted the Einstein–Szilárd letter, which warned of the potential development... Read more
-
United States Drops Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United... Read more
-
Igor Gouzenko Defects from USSR to Canada, Providing Evidence of a Soviet Spy Ring in Western Countries
Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (January 13, 1919, Rogachevo, Soviet Union – June 28, 1982, Mississauga, Canada) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet... Read more
-
George F. Kennan Writes the Long Telegram
G. F. Kennan had been stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow as minister-counselor since 1944. Although highly critical of the Soviet system, the... Read more
-
The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's second nuclear power.
The RDS-1 (Russian: РДС-1), was the Soviet Union's first nuclear weapon test. It is also known as Joe-1, in reference to Joseph Stalin. It was... Read more
-
United Kindgom tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's third nuclear power, code named Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device on 3 October 1952. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon... Read more
-
France tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's fourth nuclear power, code named Gerboise Bleue
Gerboise Bleue ("blue jerboa") was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated in the middle of the Algerian Sahara... Read more
-
United States U-2 Reconnaissance Mission Discovers SS-4 Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) Sites in Varying Stages of Readiness
The first consignment of SS-3 MRBMs (medium range ballistic missiles) arrived on the night of September 8, followed by a second on September 16.... Read more
-
Khruschev Announces Soviet Union will Remove Missiles from Cuba in Radio Moscow Address
After much deliberation between the Soviet Union and Kennedy's cabinet, Kennedy secretly agreed to remove all missiles set in Turkey on the border... Read more
-
President Kennedy Ratifies the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The Treaty banning Nuclear Weapon Tests In The Atmosphere, In Outer Space And Under Water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT),... Read more
-
China tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's fifth nuclear power, code named 596
596 is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, detonated on October 16, 1964 at the Lop Nur test site. It was... Read more
-
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Ratified
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT) is a treaty to limit the spread of... Read more
-
India tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's sixth nuclear power, code named Smiling Buddha
While touring the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) on 7 September 1972 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave verbal authorization to the scientists... Read more
-
Pakistan tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's seventh nuclear power, code named Chagai-I
Chagai-I refers to the nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan in 1998. It was named Chagai-I as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District... Read more
-
North Korea tests its first atomic bomb to become the world's eighth nuclear power
North Korea’s Nuclear Test: Motivations, Implications, and U.S. Options On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced it conducted a nuclear test.... Read more
-
North Korea Withdraws from 1953 Armistice
SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea said Wednesday it was abandoning the truce that ended the Korean war and warned it could launch a military attack on the... Read more
-
Kim Jong-il Names Successor
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, has named his youngest son as his successor, South Korean newspaper reports said today , the latest in a... Read more
-
North Korea sentences 2 American journalists to 12 years hard labor
A North Korean court sentenced two U.S. journalists to 12 years in a labor camp Monday, as the government of Kim Jong Il continued to ratchet up... Read more
-
President Obama Welcomes President Lee Myung-Bak in Washington
As North Korea threatens nuclear war, President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will be eager to show the North the unity of... Read more
-
US Begins Tracking North Korean Freighter Suspected of Carrying Prohibited Materials
A North Korean ship shadowed by an American Navy destroyer and possibly heading toward Myanmar on Sunday could pose the first test of how far the... Read more
-
North Korea declares itself "proud nuclear power," warns U.S.
I don't want to speculate on hypotheticals. But I do want to give assurances to the American people that the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted. Read more
-
Suspect North Korean Ship Trailed by US Navy Reverses Course
A North Korean cargo ship being closely tailed by the United States Navy appears to be changing course, and may be returning to North Korea. The... Read more
-
North Korea Fires Seven More Ballistic Missiles
US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday dismissed North Korea's latest series of missile launches, saying the communist regime was engaged in... Read more
-
President Obama Arrives in Moscow to Discuss Arms Controls
The United States and Russia, seeking to move forward on one of the most significant arms control treaties since the end of the cold war, have... Read more