Key Figures

The name"United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of January 1942, during the second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers President John F. Kennedy demanded the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba. The dispute, which came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, ended with the withdrawal of the missiles.

This conflict brought the two superpowers closer than ever to nuclear war.

Egyptian leader Abdul Nasser ordered U.N. peacekeepers out of his country, setting the stage for him to invade Israel. The United Nations timidly agreed,and, as a result, Arab states launched attacks that began the six-day war.