Find articles about diplomatic events from each day of the year
Here’s a handy calendar of events linked to Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History. Remember, this is not a complete list of all Moments, only those tied to a specific date.
January
1 Batista Flees Cuba, 1959
1 U.S. De-recognizes Taiwan in Favor of Communist China, 1979
1 NAFTA Goes Into Effect, 1994
1 Zapatista Revolt in Chiapas Begins, 1994
3 U.S. Closes Down Embassy Havana, 1961
4 Embassy Mogadishu Evacuated, 1991
6 Crown of St. Stephen Returned to Hungary, 1978
9 Panama Riots Erupt, 1964
15 Martin Luther King’s Birthday
16 Officially Unofficial – The Opening of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), 1979
16 Finale of the Persian Monarchy and Prelude to the Iranian Revolution, 1979
17 Desert Storm Begins, 1991
17 U.S. Drops Four H-bombs Over Spain, 1966
18 Death of an AUB President and Father of a Future NBA Coach
18 Military Attache Charles Ray Assassinated at Embassy Paris, 1982
23 Spy Ship USS Pueblo Seized by North Korea, 1968
25 The Rise to Power of the Butcher of Uganda, 1971
26 Cairo Fire, 1952
27 Paris Peace Accords on Vietnam Signed, 1973
27 U.S. Officially Recognizes Mongolia, 1987
30 Tet Offensive — Vietnam, 1968
31 First McDonald’s Opens in the USSR, 1990
February
1 Celebrating the Leadership of America’s Ambassadors of African Descent
1 U.S. Opens Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 1992
3 Paraguay’s Alfredo Stroessner Overthrown, 1989
5 Togo President Eyadema Dies in Plane Crash, 2005
6 Haiti’s Baby Doc Duvalier Goes Into Exile, 1986
7 Josef Mengele Dies, 1979; His Body Identified, 1985
9 Senator Joseph McCarthy Claims Communists in the State Department, 1950
11 A Crack in the Iron Curtain: Freeing Sharansky, 1986
12 Red Hand Day to Stop Use of Child Soldiers
14 Ambassador Spike Dubs Killed in Kabul, 1979
14 Reunited on Valentine’s Day, 1968
17 First VOA Broadcast to USSR and Challenge of Soft Power in a Cold War, 1947
18 Julia Chang Bloch’s Whole-of-Mission Approach in Nepal, 1990
22 Nixon Goes to China, 1972
22 Bad Blood: USSR and the U.S. Normalization of Ties with China, 1972
25 Managing the End of the Marcos Regime, 1986
26 Chinese Dissident Fang Lizhi Disinvited to State Dinner, 1989
26 Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos Go Into Exile in Hawaii, 1986
27 U.S. Ambassador in Bogota Kidnapped at Reception, 1980
March
1 Terrorist Attack on Saudi Embassy in Khartoum, 1973
1 H-bomb Explosion in Bikini Atoll, 1954
3 Beginning of Ill-fated Iraq Uprising, 1991
7 Creating Bangladesh: The Triumph and Tragedy of Sheikh Mujib, 1973
9 Stalin’s Daughter Asks for Asylum at Embassy New Delhi, 1967
11 Supreme Council of Lithuania Declares the Nation’s Sovereignty, 1990
12 Poland and Others Become NATO Members, 1999
12 Tardencilla Recants Regarding Cuban Involvement in El Salvador, 1982
12 Survivor of Two Concentration Camps, U.S. Ambassador to Three Countries, 1938
13 Chilean Grapes with Cyanide Found, Causing Bilateral Issues, 1989
16 My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, 1968
17 Ireland and the U.S.: The Best of Friends, Except When They Weren’t
19 U.S. Invades Iraq; Pillaging of Iraq Museum, 2003
19 Warriors without Weapons – Recruiting FSOs to Rebuild Iraq, 2003
20 Ambassador Pamela Harriman Born, 1920
20 Martinis, Carpets and Sacks of Gold: A U.S. Diplomat in French Tunisia, 1956
23 President Reagan Announces SDI, aka “Star Wars”, 1983
25 Leveling the Playing Field in the Salvadoran Civil War, 1984
25 Escape from Japanese Internment in China, 1943
29 King and I Premieres on Broadway, 1951
30 Al Haig “In Charge” After Reagan Assassination Attempt, 1981
31 Military Carries Out Coup in Brazil, 1964
April
1 April Fool’s Day
1 U.S. and Chinese Planes Collide Off Hainan, Leads to “Letter of Two Sorries”
1 Start of Mariel Boat Crisis in Cuba, 1980
2 Argentina Invades Falkland Islands, 1982; Seeing the War from Both Sides
3. Marshall Plan Goes Into Effect, 1948
3 Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown’s Plane Crashes in Croatia, 1996
4 Execution of Pakistan’s Ali Bhutto, 1979
4 NATO Treaty Signed, 1949
5 Beginning of War in Bosnia, 1983
6 Blood Telegram on Massacres in East Pakistan (Bangladesh), 1971
6 Nazis Invade Yugoslavia and Greece, 1941
6 Operation Provide Comfort Begins in Iraq, 1991
6 When the Sudanese Autocrat Met President Reagan and Lost his Job, 1985
7 President Carter Announces Suspension of Neutron Bomb, 1978
7 Fleeing Rwanda to Survive, then Returning to Rebuild, 1994
7 Rwandan Genocide — View from Ground Zero, 1994
7 Rwandan Genocide — View from Washington, 1994
10 Visit of U.S. Ping Pong Team to China, 1971
10 Signing of the Good Friday Peace Accords on Northern Ireland, 1998
12 Surviving the Coup that Transformed Liberia, 1980
12 Operation Eagle Pull before the Fall of Phnom Penh
13 A Front Row Seat to the 1975 Coup d’Etat in Chad, 1975
15 U.S. Bombs Libya, 1986
17 New President, Bad Plan: the Bay of Pigs Fiasco, 1961
18 Bombing of Embassy Beirut, 1983
20 Pierre Trudeau Sworn in as Canada’s 15th Prime Minister, 1968
20 Pot-pourri
21 Iraq’s Rocky Road to Recovery Post-Saddam, 2003
22 Crash of Pan Am Flight in Bali, 1974
23 Communist Chinese Seize Nanking, 1949
23 Shirley Temple Black Born, 1928
24 Ambassador John Evans Calls 1915 Armenian Massacres “Genocide,” 2004
25 Portugal’s Peaceful Carnation Revolution, 1974
26 Fall of South Korean Strongman Syngman Rhee, 1960
27 The Saur Revolution: Prelude to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1978
27 Burundi: With Independence Came Genocide, 1972
28 Pres. Nixon Announces Incursion into Cambodia, 1970
28 U.S. Invasion in Dominican Civil War, 1965
29 Evacuation from Consulate General Can Tho, Vietnam, 1975
30 Fall of Saigon, 1975
May
1 U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers Shot Down Over the USSR, Reaction in Washington, 1960
4 Nancy Reagan and the Runaway Chopper, 1985
5 Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child: A Caning in Singapore, 1994
7 Dien Bien Phu Falls, 1954
7 Bombing of Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, 1999
7 Vladimir Putin Becomes President of Russia, 2000
8 Nazi Germany Surrenders, 1945
8 CIA Pilot Captured in Indonesia, 1958
9 Nelson Mandela Inaugurated, 1994
9 “Years of Lead” — Domestic Terrorism and Italy’s Red Brigades, 1978
11 Non-Proliferation Treaty Extended Indefinitely, 1995
12 Ceasefire Reached in Nagorno-Karabakh, 1994
13 A Black Day in May for Malaysia, 1969
13 Venezuelans Attack VP Nixon, 1958
14 Deadly Founding of Israel, 1948
15 “Austria is Free!.” 1955
16 De-Baathification Order Takes Effect in Iraq, 2003
18 India Conducts First Nuclear Test, 1974
18 Pope John Paul II Born, 1920
21 India’s Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Assassinated, 1991
22 North and South Yemen Merge, 1990
25 Crisis Management: Occupation of USIS in South Korea, 1985
25 Roaring through the Riots of Libreville, 1990
29 Hillary and Norgay Summit Mount Everest, 1953; Sue Cobb in 1988
30 Assassination of Dominican Republic’s Rafael Trujillo, 1961
30 Japanese Terrorists in Israel, 1972
June
4 Tiananmen Square Massacre, 1989
4 Tiananmen Square as Seen from Washington, 1989
4 Jerry Rawlings Leads Coup in Ghana, 1979
4 JFK-Khrushchev Meeting in Vienna Touches Off Berlin Crisis, 1961
5 The Six-Day War Begins, 1967
6 D-Day Invasion of Normandy, 1944
6 Start of the Nigerian Civil War and the Famine in Biafra, 1967
7 Israel’s Attack on Osirak, 1981
8 Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty, 1967
8 Kurt Waldheim Elected President of Austria, Later Banned from U.S. as Nazi, 1986
9 Taiwan’s President Addresses Cornell, Tensions Spike with China, 1995
12 President Reagan’s “Tear down this wall!” speech, 1987
14 Hijacking of TWA Flight 847, 1985
14 Nazis Take Paris, 1940
15 Politics, Pinatubo and the Pentagon: The Closure of Subic Bay, 1991
15 How a Former Secretary of State Won an Ancient Temple for Cambodia, 1962
16 Assassination of Ambassador Meloy and Robert Waring — Beirut, 1976
16-17 East Berlin Uprising, 1953
16 Soweto Uprising, 1976
17 Break-in at the Watergate HQ of the Democratic National Committee, 1972
18 Cleaning up America’s Backyard: the Overthrow of Guatemala’s Arbenz, 1954
21 Greenland National Day: The American Consulate at Godthab, 1940-42
21 France Withdraws from NATO, 1966
25 North Korea Invades South Korea, 1950; Creating Motion Pictures to Fight the War of Ideas in Korea
25 Secretary of State Al Haig Resigns, 1982
25 Yugoslavia Collapses as Croatia and Slovenia Declare Independence, 1991
25 Khobar Tower Bombings, 1996
26 Berlin Airlift Begins, 1948
26 “Ich bin ein Berliner,” 1963
27 Siberian Seven Allowed to Leave USSR after Five Years in U.S. Embassy, 1983
27 John Kennedy, first Catholic President of the U.S., Visits Ireland, 1963
28 Little Boy Lost: The Case of Elian Gonzalez, 2000
30 Congo Wins Independence from Belgium, 1960
30 USSR Withdraws Troops from Hungary, 1991
July
1 Hong Kong Returned to China, 1997
1 U.S. Bombs Afghan Wedding, 2002
1 Somalia Gains Its Independence, 1960
2 Thai Devaluation Leads to Economic Crisis, 1997
2 The Chile Burn Victims Case: Containment vs. Human Rights under Pinochet, 1986
3 USS Vicennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655, 1988
4 Fourth of July
5 Creating Yaounde’s First Consulate of Any Kind, 1957
5 Life as a U.S. Ambassador in Cape Verde
7 The Stolen Victory and Mysterious Death of Moshood Abiola
10 Birthday Coup Attempt Against Morocco’s King Hassan II, 1971
11 Katanga Secedes from Congo, 1960
14 Iraqi Revolution, 1958
14 “Football War” between Honduras and El Salvador Begins, 1969
15 Marine Invasion of Lebanon, 1958
15 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, 1974
16 Trinity Plutonium Bomb Test at Los Alamos, 1945
17 Nicaragua’s Somoza Flees, Sandinistas Seize Power, 1979
17 Disneyland Opens, 1955
18 Rudolf Hess and Others Imprisoned in Spandau, 1947
18 Leeds Castle Negotiations Between Israel, U.S. and Egypt, 1978
19 U.S. Announces Withdrawal of Financing for the Aswan Dam, 1956
19 Operation Rolling Thunder Begins in Vietnam, 1964
20 Turkish Intervention in Cyprus, 1974
20 Jordan’s King Abdullah I Assassinated, 1951
21 Geneva Conference on Vietnam and Korea Concludes, 1954
22 Cease-fire Reached in Transnistria, 1992
23 Drug-Sniffing Mongooses and other Tales of the Sri Lankan Civil War, 1983
24 Khrushchev vs. Nixon in “Kitchen Debate,” 1959
25 Ambassador April Glaspie Meets with Saddam Hussein Shortly Before Invasion, 1990
25 A Day of Mixed Messages over Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait, 1990
26 Suez Canal Nationalized, 1956
27 Uganda President Obote Overthrown, 1985
27 Attempted Coup in Trinidad and Tobago, 1990
28 Jacqueline Kennedy’s Birthday, 1929
August
1 Glomar Explorer Secretly Recovers K-129 Soviet Sub from Pacific Ocean Floor, 1974
1 The Signing of the Helsinki Final Act and Charter 77, 1975
2 Saddam Invades Kuwait, Takes American Hostages, 1990
2 Gulf of Tonkin Incident Leads to U.S. Escalation in Vietnam, 1964
4 Kuala Lumpur Hostage Crisis, 1975
4 Operation Storm in Croatian War for Independence Begins, 1995
5 Pakistan Invades Kashmir, 1965
5 Limited Test Ban Treaty is signed, 1963
7 Embassy Nairobi Bombings, 1998
7 Embassy Dar Es Salaam Bombing, 1998
8 Burma’s 8888 Demonstrations and Rise of Aung Sun Suu Kyi, 1988
8 Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo Leads to Civil War, 1992
9 President Richard Nixon Resigns, 1974
13 Berlin Wall Is Built, 1961
13 East Germany Builds Berlin Wall, 1961
15 Republic of Korea Established, 1948
15 Observing the 50th Anniversary of VJ Day, 1995
16 CIA-backed Coup Against Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh, 1953
16 Cyprus Gains Independence, 1960
17 Ambassador to Pakistan Arnie Raphel Dies in Plane Crash, 1988
17 134 Cells, One Inmate: The Closure of Spandau Prison, 1987
18 Tree-Cutting, Axe-Murder Incident in the DMZ, 1976
19 Ambassador Davies Killed in Cyprus, 1974
19 Attempted Coup in the USSR, 1991
19 Welcome to Moscow, Mr. Ambassador! Ignore the Coup, 1991
20 USSR Invades Czechoslovakia, 1968
24 Mt. Vesuvius Erupts, Destroying Herculaneum, 79
24 Ukraine Declares Independence, 1991
25 Paris Liberated, 1944
26 Mother Teresa Born, 1910
26 Embassy Moscow Fire, 1977
27 President Johnson Born in 1908
28 Ambassador John Gordon Mein Killed in Guatemala, 1968
29 PFLP Hijacking of TWA Flight 840, 1969
29 Michael Jackson’s Birthday; His Underwhelming Visit to Gabon, 1992
29 Signing the Chamizal Convention to Mark the Mexican-U.S. Border, 1963
30 General Douglas MacArthur Assumes Control in Japan, 1945
September
1 Qaddafi Coup in Libya, 1969
1 Qaddafi Seizes Power in Libya, 1969
1 Black September Attacks in Jordan, 1970
1 USSR Shoots Down KAL Flight 007, 1983
2 Observing the Fiftieth Anniversary of VJ-day in Japan, 1995
3 Qatar Declares Independence from Great Britain, 1971
3 PRC Begins Bombing Tachen Islands, Starting Taiwan Straits Crises, 1954
4 U.S. Ambassador Kidnapped in Brazil, 1969
4 UN Conference on Women Opens in China, 1995
6 Swaziland Becomes Independent, 1968
7 Panama Canal Treaty Signed, 1977
8 The 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan
9 Tracking China’s Political Change through Dazibao Posters
10 UN General Assembly Approves Resolution on Comprehensive Test Ban, 1996
11 9/11, 2001
11 Attack on U.S. Compound in Benghazi, 2012
11 Coup Against Chile’s Salvador Allende, 1973
12 The Overthrow of Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie I, 1974
13 Oslo Peace Accords Signed at White House, 1994
13 Philippine Senate Rejects Lease Extension on Subic and Clark bases, 1991
15 Khrushchev Begins Visit to America, 1959
16 Sabra and Shatila Massacre, 1982
16 Starting an Embassy from Scratch in Papua New Guinea, 1975
17 Camp David Peace Accords Signed, 1978
17 U.S. Suspends Obligations to New Zealand Under ANZUS Treaty, 1986
19 Mexico City Earthquake, 1985
19 U.S. Intervenes in Haiti, 1994
21 Letelier-Moffitt Assassinated in Washington, DC, 1976
25 Black Hawk Down Incident in Somalia, 1993
26 Egypt-backed Coup in North Yemen, 1962
26 Stopping the MADness through Arms Control and Disarmament, 1961
28 Death of Israeli Statesman Shimon Peres, 2016
29 The Overthrow of Haitian President Aristide, 1991
October
1 The Communist Takeover of Nanking
1 U.S. Embassy Jakarta and Indonesian Purges 1965-1966
3 Germany Reunified, 1990
3 Yeltsin Under Siege in Constitutional Crisis, 1993
3 Picking Up the Pieces After Black Hawk Down
5 Start of “October Crisis” as Quebec Separatists Turn Violent, 1970
5 Plebiscite Ousts Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet, 1988
6 Assassination of Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, 1981
6 Start of Yom Kippur War, Evacuation of U.S. Citizens, 1973
7 Achille Lauro Hijacked, 1985
8 Hadamar Trial on WWII Atrocities Begins, 1945
9 Execution of Che Guevara, 1967
9 When North Koreans Tried to Kill the President of South Korea, 1983
11 Reykjavik Summit Held, 1986
14 Cuban Missile Crisis as Seen from Moscow and the Ops Center, 1962
18 What Goes on Behind the Scenes When POTUS Comes to Town: Bush in Shanghai, 2001
18 Jesse Helms: the Senator who Just Said No
19 Polish Priest Jerzy Popiełuszko Murdered by Security Service, 1984
20 Diplomatic Ties Established with Pakistan, 1947
20 Trouble in the Mountains: The Sino-Indian War, 1962
21 October Revolution Forces out General Ibrahim Abboud in Sudan, 1964
21 Agreed Framework Signed to Limit Nuclear Proliferation in North Korea, 1994
23 Hungarian Revolution, 1956
25 U.S. Invades Grenada, 1983
25 U.S. Army Transfers Arlington Hall to State Dept, Allowing Creation of FSI, 1989
26 Windshield Tour of a Military Coup in Benin, 1972
28 Cuban Missile Crisis Resolved, 1962
28 Diplomacy Despite It All – Kissinger’s India Fix, 1974
29 Admitting the Shah to the U.S.: Every Form of Refuge has its Price, 1979
29 Modern Turkey’s History of Military Coups
29 Ghana-Guinea-U.S. Diplomatic Hostage Crisis Begins, 1966
30 Madrid Peace Conference on the Middle East Begins, 1991
30 Argentina Holds Democratic Elections After “Dirty War,” 1983
31 Indira Gandhi Assassinated, 1984
31 Halloween; FSOs and Witch Doctors
November
1 U.S. Detonates First H-bomb, 1952
2 The Last Emperor – The Fall of Haile Selassie
3 Federated States of Micronesia Gain Independence, 1986
3 Beginning of Georgia’s Rose Revolution, 2003
3 Beirut Newspaper Reveals Details About Iran-Contra, 1986
4 Iran Hostage Crisis (held at the Foreign Ministry — Laingen), 1979
4 Iran Hostage Crisis (held at the embassy — Limbert), 1979
4 Iran Hostage Crisis (solitary confinement — Metrinko). 1979
4 The Canadian Caper, Argo, and Escape from Iran
4 Cardinal Mindszenty Seeks Asylum in Embassy Budapest, 1956
4 The Murder of Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s Warrior for Peace, 1995
6 Resolving the Czechoslovak Gold Dispute, 1981
6 Pablo Escobar and the Siege of Colombia’s Palace of Justice
7 Presidential Election Leads to Florida Recount and Bush v. Gore, 2000
9 Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989
9 Escape from the Nazis after Kristallnacht, 1938
10 Marine Corps Ball
10 Embassy Kampala Closed, DCM to Marine Corps Ball in Nairobi, 1973
11 Guerrillas Seize Sheraton Hotel, Later Kill Jesuits in El Salvador, 1989
13 Iran-Contra: Who Knew What When?, 1986
13 President Reagan Speaks on Iran-Contra, 1986
17 U.S. Diplomat PNG’d from Iraq, 1988
17 17 November Terrorizes Greece
18 French Colony to Sovereign State: Moroccan Independence, 1956
18 Jonestown Massacre, 1978
19 Taking the Chill off the Cold War: the First Reagan-Gorbachev Summit, 1985
20 Consulate in Mukden (Shenyang) Held Hostage by Communist Chinese, 1948
20 Spain’s Post-Franco Emergence from Dictatorship to Democracy, 1975
21 Embassy Islamabad Seized and Burned by Rioters, 1979
21 Embassy Islamabad Account, Two Days After Incident, 1979
21 When Friends Spy on Friends: The Case of Jonathan Pollard, 1985
22 Assassination of John F. Kennedy, 1963
23 Hijacking of Ethiopian Flight 961, 1996
24 Dragon Rouge Rescue Operation — Congo, 1964
25 Kleptocracy and Anti-Communism: When Mobutu Ruled Zaire, 1965
28 Attack on JFK Library by Congolese Students — Cairo, 1964
29 North Korean Agents Blow Up Korean Flight 858, 1987
December
1 Treaty of Lisbon Goes Into Effect, Creates the European Union, 2009
1 UNGA Passes Framework for Kimberley Process to Stem Blood Diamonds, 2000
2 First Children on Kindertransport Arrive in UK, 1938
3 Bhopal Chemical Disaster, 1984
3 Passage of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, 1997
4 Bokassa Crowned Head of Central African Empire, 1976
5 Escape from the Congo, 1961
7 Bombing of Pearl Harbor (Yokohama), 1941
7 The Failed Negotiations with Tokyo, 1941
7 Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor, 1941
8 Get While the Getting’s Good: Departing Communist China, 1949
9 Start of First Intifada, 1987
11 Tiananmen: Another Bump in China’s Road to WTO Accession, 2001
13 FSO John Service dismissed by State Department for “losing China,” 1951
14 Marine Clayton Lonetree Confesses to Espionage, 1986
14 Dayton Peace Accords Ending War in the Balkans Signed, 1995
16 Romanian Revolution and Fall of Ceausescu, 1989
17 Hostage Crisis, Japanese Residence in Lima, 1996
18 The Christmas Bombings over North Vietnam, 1972
20 Invasion of Panama, 1989
21 Lockerbie Bombing, 1988
22 Tripartite Accords Signed, Ending Foreign Troop Involvement in Angola, 1988
24 USSR Invades Afghanistan, 1979
25 Christmas Letter Puts Writer in an Irish Stew, 1980
26 Kopeks and Big Macs – Russia’s Move to a Market Economy, 1991
31 Ringing in Y2K in Fiji, 1999
31 New Year’s Eve with the Roosevelts, 1941