1920: League of Nations instituted
On January 10, 1920, the League of Nations comes into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by 42 nations in 1919, takes effect. Beneath the relief at the end of World War I lay the fear that another Great War might occur.
Thus, the League of Nations was established to resolve international crises and prevent such a recurrence. Although U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had proposed the organisation, the U.S. Senate refused to approve American participation, citing fears that the League would reduce U.S. authority. This fundamentally weakened the organisation.
In November 1920, the League of Nations held its first meeting in Geneva. During the 1920s, it incorporated new members and mediated minor international disputes but was often disregarded by the major world powers.
The organisation's authority, however, was not seriously challenged until the early 1930s, when a series of events exposed it as ineffectual. Japan quit the organisation after its invasion of Manchuria was condemned, and the League was likewise powerless to prevent the rearmament of Germany and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia. The declaration of World War II was not even mentioned by the then virtually-defunct League.
1991
United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar sets off for Baghdad in a final diplomatic effort to avoid war with Iraq.
1989
As part of an arrangement to decrease Cold War tensions and end a brutal war in Angola, Cuban troops begin their withdrawal from the African nation.
1979
As Britain is crippled by industrial action, British Prime Minister James Callaghan flies back into Britain and denies that the country is in chaos. His comments are later to be widely misquoted as ‘crisis; what crisis?’1957
In Britain, Harold Macmillan accepts the offer from the Queen to form a new government following the resignation of Sir Anthony Eden.1954
A British Overseas Airways Corporation jet, on its way from Singapore to London, crashes in the Mediterranean Sea. Thirty five people are missing and feared dead.1946
In London, the first General Assembly of the United Nations meets at Westminster Central Hall.
1941
President Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease program, a loan scheme created to aid Britain in its fight against Germany, is brought before the U.S. Congress for consideration.
1929
The popular cartoon strip character 'Tin-Tin' appears for the first time.
1923
Warren G. Harding, the American President, orders U.S. occupation troops stationed in Germany since the end of the First World War to return home.
1922
Arthur Griffith, the founder of Sinn Fein and one of the architects of the 1921 peace treaty with Britain, is elected president of the newly established Irish Free State.
1863
The first section of London's Underground Railway, the 'Metropolitan' Line was opened, running from Paddington to Farringdon Street.
1776
American writer and human rights advocate Thomas Paine publishes radical pamphlet, 'Common Sense'. The pamphlet is the most coherent statement to date of American independence views and is a pivotal opinion former during the American Revolution.
49BC
On this day, Julius Caesar is thought to have crossed the Rubicon, signalling the start of the Civil War.