Political Leaders of the Cold War
The atlas holds 39 people and 821 moments here, from 1947 to 1991. The most recorded lives are Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Notable people
Ronald Reagan
from 1952 to 1991
90 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Martin Luther King Jr.
from 1948 to 1968
62 moments here
American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…
Mikhail Gorbachev
from 1950 to 1991
53 moments here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
John F. Kennedy
from 1947 to 1963
52 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
Nelson Mandela
from 1952 to 1991
47 moments here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Che Guevara
from 1948 to 1967
43 moments here
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928–1967) was an Argentine physician, Marxist revolutionary, Cuban government official, diplomat, and guerrilla commander.…
Jimmy Carter
from 1949 to 1982
36 moments here
James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…
Indira Gandhi
from 1956 to 1984
34 moments here
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…
Fidel Castro
from 1948 to 1991
33 moments here
Cuban revolutionary and political leader who led the 26th of July Movement against Fulgencio Batista, became Cuba's prime minister in 1959, and later…
Margaret Thatcher
from 1947 to 1991
25 moments here
British stateswoman Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the…
Yuri Gagarin
from 1950 to 1968
24 moments here
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space and to orbit Earth on Vostok 1 on 12 April…
George H. W. Bush
from 1948 to 1991
24 moments here
George Herbert Walker Bush was an American naval aviator, oil executive, congressman, diplomat, director of central intelligence, vice president, and…
Jawaharlal Nehru
from 1947 to 1964
23 moments here
Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…
Raisa Gorbacheva
from 1949 to 1991
22 moments here
Soviet and Russian activist, philanthropist, lecturer, and public figure; wife of Mikhail Gorbachev.…
Benazir Bhutto
from 1953 to 1989
21 moments here
Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…
Corazon Aquino
from 1949 to 1989
21 moments here
María Corazón Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was a Filipino political leader and president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992.…
Golda Meir
from 1947 to 1978
20 moments here
Golda Meir was an Israeli political leader who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974.…
Dwight D. Eisenhower
from 1948 to 1969
18 moments here
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and the 34th president of the United…
Harry S. Truman
from 1947 to 1972
17 moments here
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.…
Pope John Paul II
from 1948 to 1990
16 moments here
Karol Józef Wojtyła (1920–2005), Pope John Paul II from 1978, was a Polish Catholic priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope.…
Helen Keller
from 1947 to 1968
16 moments here
Helen Adams Keller was an American deafblind author, lecturer, disability-rights advocate, and political activist.…
Wangarĩ Maathai
from 1947 to 1991
13 moments here
Kenyan environmentalist, democracy activist, academic, founder of the Green Belt Movement, parliamentarian, and the first African woman awarded the…
Pope Francis
from 1958 to 1986
12 moments here
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, was an Argentine Jesuit priest, archbishop of Buenos Aires, cardinal, and head of the Catholic Church and…
Charles de Gaulle
from 1958 to 1970
12 moments here
French army officer, leader of Free France during the Second World War, head of France's Provisional Government, and president of the French Fifth…
Moments
- 1947 Lived in Georgetown during House service John F. Kennedy
- 1947 Research chemist in Colchester Margaret Thatcher
- 1947 Arrives in Patna for Bihar peace mission Mahatma Gandhi
- 1947 Inspects ruined sites near Masaurhi Mahatma Gandhi
- 1947 Visits Kako relief camp Mahatma Gandhi
- 1947 Death at Fair Lane Henry Ford
- 1947 Fasts and spins in Calcutta on independence day Mahatma Gandhi
- 1947 Stays at Sodepur before independence Mahatma Gandhi
- 1948 Medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires Che Guevara
- 1948 Assassinated at Birla House Mahatma Gandhi
- 1948 Begins final Delhi fast Mahatma Gandhi
- 1948 Conservative Party conference delegate Margaret Thatcher
- 1948 First pastoral assignment Pope John Paul II
- 1948 Ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1948 Bogotá and the Bogotazo Fidel Castro
- 1948 Addresses Congress of Europe at The Hague Winston Churchill
- 1948 Speaks in Oslo Winston Churchill
- 1948 Begins Crozer Seminary studies Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1949 Western Pacific submarine patrol Jimmy Carter
- 1949 Speaks at MIT Winston Churchill
- 1949 Move to larger Havana flat Fidel Castro
- 1949 Proclamation of the People's Republic Mao Zedong
- 1949 First Moscow visit Mao Zedong
- 1950 Solo northern Argentina expedition Che Guevara
- 1950 Arrival for Moscow State University Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1950 Moscow State University residence Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1950 Foundry apprenticeship Yuri Gagarin
- 1950 Challenges segregation at Mary's Cafe Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1950 Student protest and arrest Fidel Castro
- 1950 Hears Mordecai Johnson on Gandhi Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1951 Began a Europe-Asia fact-finding tour John F. Kennedy
- 1951 Industrial Technical School studies Yuri Gagarin
- 1951 Graduates from Crozer Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1951 Begins Boston University studies Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1951 Visited French Indochina John F. Kennedy
- 1952 South American motorcycle journey Che Guevara
- 1952 Visit to Chuquicamata copper mine Che Guevara
- 1952 Volunteer work at San Pablo leper colony Che Guevara
- 1952 Marries Nancy Davis Ronald Reagan
- 1952 Launches Defiance Campaign in Durban Nelson Mandela
- 1952 Builds Pacific Palisades home Ronald Reagan
- 1953 Return to Plains farming Jimmy Carter
- 1953 Visits Eisenhower and Truman in the United States Winston Churchill
- 1953 Nuclear-power course at Union College Jimmy Carter
- 1953 Dies at Kuntsevo Dacha Joseph Stalin
- 1953 Medical degree in Buenos Aires Che Guevara
- 1953 Marries Coretta Scott Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1953 Moncada attack and retreat Fidel Castro
- 1953 Opens Mandela and Tambo Nelson Mandela
- 1953 Trial at Santiago Palace of Justice Fidel Castro