World War II: US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.

Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany in two, a milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe.

The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.

Manhattan Project: the Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

World War II: Hiroshima is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 ''Enola Gay''. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, which becomes the third nation to join.

World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, ''Fat Man'', is dropped by the United States B-29 ''Bockscar''. 39,000 people are killed outright.

The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for the United States plutonium bomb from Klaus Fuchs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Cold War: Operation Paperclip: The United States Army secretly admits 88 German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.

By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN was established on October 24, 1945).

After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.

The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after the World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman issues a peacetime military draft in the United States amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union.

Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.

A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.

The National Basketball Association is founded in the United States.

The United States decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War.

Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations.

Korean War: United States forces land at Inchon

Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty.

The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast in the United States, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised on NBC.

Operation Buster-Jangle: 6,500 American soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary.

Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

President Harry Truman announces that the United States has developed the hydrogen bomb.

The United States government establishes the National Security Agency.

Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States.

Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conduct their first and only nuclear artillery test.

The Korean War ends when the United States, the People's Republic of China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.

Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document National Security Council Paper No. 162/2, which states that the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.

President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.

Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words "under God" into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.

Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam

In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.

The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in Washington, D.C..

The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States