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Cold War
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Berlin blockade and airlift North Atlantic Treaty Organization Cuban missile crisis
Explore technological innovations of the Cold War
How the Cold War contributed to antibiotic resistance
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Soviet invasion of Prague
What if the Cold War turned hot?
Berlin Wall opening Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev
For Students
Wreckage of the U-2 spy plane shot down inside the Soviet Union in 1960. U-2 spy plane incident, U-2 affair, Cold War.
Comprehension Quiz: Cold War
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Cold War summary
Quizzes
Thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, code-named MIKE, detonated in the Marshall Islands in the fall of 1952. Photo taken at a height of 12,000 feet, 50 miles from the detonation site. (Photo 3 of a series of 8) Atomic bomb explosion nuclear energy hydrogen energy
Facts You Should Know: The Cold War Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Computer mapping, woman at early 1990s computer
Timeline of the 1990s
President Ronald Reagan deliving his famous speech that challenged the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall, at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, June 12, 1987.
“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”: Reagan’s Berlin Speech
Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting
Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?
Korean War - U.S. Marines watch explosions of bombs dropped by Marine Vought F4U Corsair fighter bomber planes during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Korea, in December 1950. soldiers
Korean War Timeline
Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)
All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained
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earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Attack on Pearl Harbor. December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor infographic. World War II. Hawaii. United States. Japan. SPOTLIGHT VERSION
Attack on Pearl Harbor Timeline
Horses. Equus caballus. Horse stable. A brown horse looks out from his stall through the window.
Horsing Around: 7 of the Weirdest Racehorse Names in History
Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)
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African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
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Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics
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Cold War: Facts & Related Content

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Facts

Date 1947 - 1991
Participants North Atlantic Treaty Organization • Soviet Union • United States • Warsaw Treaty Organization
Context international relations

Did You Know?

  • Space was an important arena for the Cold War and even led to the creation of NASA.
  • Millions of people were killed in the proxy wars between the US and the USSR during the Cold War.
  • The "hot" parts of the Cold War included the Korean War, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion into Cuba, and the Vietnam War.

Photos and Videos

Berlin blockade and airlift
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Cuban missile crisis
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
Soviet invasion of Prague
Berlin Wall opening
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev
Explore technological innovations of the Cold War
How the Cold War contributed to antibiotic resistance
What if the Cold War turned hot?
Cuban missile crisis: The world on the brink of war
How Mikhail Gorbachev helped end the Cold War and unite Europe
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Timeline

Harry Truman's presidency: World War II, the atomic bomb, and the Cold War
Truman Doctrine
March 12, 1947
George C. Marshall
Marshall Plan
April 1948 - December 1951
Berlin blockade and airlift
Berlin blockade
June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
May 14, 1955 - July 1, 1991
Francis Gary Powers
U-2 Incident
May 5, 1960 - May 17, 1960
Bay of Pigs invasion
Bay of Pigs invasion
April 17, 1961
Brandenburg Gate
Berlin crisis of 1961
August 1961
Kennedy announces U.S. naval blockade of Cuba
Cuban missile crisis
October 22, 1962 - November 20, 1962
John F. Kennedy: Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
August 5, 1963
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
1969 - 1979
Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
October 1973 - February 9, 1989
Korean Air Lines flight 007
September 1, 1983
Reagan, Ronald; Gorbachev, Mikhail
Reykjavík summit of 1986
October 11, 1986 - October 12, 1986
Boris Yeltsin and the collapse of the Soviet Union
collapse of the Soviet Union
August 18, 1991 - December 31, 1991

Key People

Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
president of United States
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
president of United States
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
president of United States
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
United States statesman
Dean Acheson
United States statesman
Philby, Kim
Kim Philby
British intelligence officer and Soviet spy

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, code-named MIKE, detonated in the Marshall Islands in the fall of 1952. Photo taken at a height of 12,000 feet, 50 miles from the detonation site. (Photo 3 of a series of 8) Atomic bomb explosion nuclear energy hydrogen energy
Facts You Should Know: The Cold War Quiz
Wreckage of the U-2 spy plane shot down inside the Soviet Union in 1960. U-2 spy plane incident, U-2 affair, Cold War.
Comprehension Quiz: Cold War