1891
|
The Society of the Elect and the Association of Helpers - (also known as the "Secret Society,"), was created by
Cecil Rhodes, Alfred Milner, William T. Stead, Reginald Baliol Brett, and Lord Esher, in London. Rhodes died in 1902, leaving the society, and his fortune, under the control of Milner, who established the Rhodes Scholar program.
|
1910
|
The Round Table - a periodical, first published by Milner's "Secret Society" for Britain's intellectual community. The writers, and those associated with the publication became known as the Round Table Group, and later, the Chatham House crowd.
|
1912
|
Edward Mandell House -
published
Philip Dru: Administrator,a novel describing how the world could best be governed by a benevolent administrator. House
traveled in Europe in 1909, and met Woodrow Wilson November 25, 1911. Chronology: Met Sir Edward Grey (member of Milner's group) in 1913.
|
1913
|
Woodrow Wilson, U.S. President - Edward Mandell House served as Wilson's campaign manager, and then as chief advisor. Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Federal Reserve Act
enacted - creating the first "central bank" in America. Paul Warberg, whose family controlled the Reichsbank in Germany, was the architect of the system.
|
1914
|
World War I Begins - Wilson campaigned against U.S. entry into the war, then entered the war in 1917, one year before it ended.
|
1918
|
Wilson's 14 Points - presented to a joint
session of Congress on January 8. The document was developed by Colonel Mandell House and advisors known as the "Inquiry."
The League of Nations - first proposed in The Round Table, in December, in an article entitled The League of Nations: A Practical Suggestion, written by Edward Mandell House and Lionel Curtis, a member of the original Rhodes/Milner "Secret Soceity."
|
1919
|
Paris Peace Conference - House is Wilson's chief deputy at the conference where he expanded his association with
leaders of the Milner group.
Genesis of the CFR and RIIA - At a meeting on May 30, at the Majestic Hotel in Paris, Edward M. House, Lionel Curtis, Lord Eustace Percy, Harold Temperley, Herbert Hoover,
Christian Herter, James T. Shotwell (Columbia), Charles Seymore (Yale), Archibald C. Coolidge (Harvard), were among 50 individuals who decided
to create the
Council on Foreign Relations in the U.S., and the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
The Treaty of Versailles -
signed June 28, ended the war and incorporated The Covenant of the League of Nations as the first 30 Articles - very much as had been proposed by House and Curtis.
|
1920
|
League of Nations rejected by U.S. Senate - despite
herculean efforts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Royal Institute of International Affairs - organized by the Milner group, housed at the Chatham House in London.
|
1921
|
Council on Foreign Relations
- organized as U.S. counterpart to Royal Institute of International Affairs. John W. Davis, attorney
to J.P. Morgan, was first president. Paul Warberg and
J.D. Rockefeller were among initial funders. Began publishing Foreign Affairs in 1922. Described by Senator Barry Goldwater in 1979.
|
1925
|
Mein Kampf - published by
Adolf Hitler.
|
1929
|
Stock Market Crash - Sets the stage for world wide
depression, international response, and another war.
|
1930
|
Bank of International Settlements - created in
Basel, Switzerland. J.P. Morgan & Company, and others involved with the creation of the Federal Reserve, were among the founders.
|
1932
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt - begins his presidency amid the great depression. "The New Deal" was formulated by leftist, Henry
A. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, and Secretary of State, Cordell
Hulll, who, as a Senator, supported Wilson's League of Nations.
Hull began drafting a United Nations Charter two weeks after
Pearl Harbor. |
1933
|
The Wilderness Society
- founded by Bob
Marshall, a socialist.
|
1936
|
National Wildlife
Federation - founded. |
1938
|
World
marches toward war - A chronology of events leading
to World War II, the event which gave rise to the United Nations.
|
1941
|
FDR delivers "Four Freedoms"
speech - (January 6), and the Atlantic
Conference (August 14), embody the idea of disarming sovereign nations under
international authority.
Declaration of
War on Japan (December 8); Declaration of War on
Germany (December 11).
|
1942
|
Declaration by
"United Nations" - first official use of the
name "United Nations," suggested by Roosevelt. Chronnology of
related events.
|
1943
|
Moscow
Conference - Articles 5 - 7 refer to "United
Nations" and post-war permanent organization.
United
Nations Association - created by Eleanor Roosevelt.
|
1944
|
Bretton
Woods Agreements - created the
World Bank
, and the
International
Monetary Fund .
Henry Morganthau delivered the
closing
address. (Background and conference
details.)
Dumbarton
Oaks Conversations - produce the draft
recommendations for a United Nations organization. The U.S. Team,
led by Edward Stettinius, included Alger
Hiss, Ralph Bunche, Leo
Pasvolsky, and Grayson Kirk. Overview
of the meeting.
|
1945
|
Yalta
Conference - (February) reached agreement on U.N. draft
recommendations and set the date for U.N. conference.
Germany
surrenders (May 7).
U.N.
Charter - signed June 26, in San Francisco.
Ratified
by Senate (89-2) July 28.
International
Court of Justice - established in The Hague.
August 6, & 9, atomic
bombs dropped on Japan. Japan
surrenders (August 14).
UNESCO
- created in London, November 16.
|
1946
|
U.S.
joins UNESCO - Julian
Huxley, president of the Eugenics
Society, and author of "The New
Divinity", first Director. Socialist
Joseph Needham, appointed Director of Natural Science.
World
Health Organization created. |
1947
|
World Federalist Association - founded in Asheville, North Carolina
World
Federalist Movement - founded in Switzerland. |
1948
|
IUCN
Created - by Julian Huxley, in Geneva.
Headquarters in Gland,
Switzerland The U.S.
Government, and several agencies are members.
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights - adopted by U.N. General Assembly
Environmental
Education - concept introduced to the U.N. by the IUCN.
|
1949
|
UNESCO
Publication 356 - "Toward World
Understanding."
|
1951
|
The Nature
Conservancy - organized. |
1959
|
United Nations
Development Program - evolved to maturity.
|
1960
|
Temple
of Understanding - organized in New York. Dr. Robert Muller on
Advisory Board.
|
1961
|
Freedom From
War - State Department Publication 7277, setting
forth U.S. disarmament policy in favor of
U.N. peacekeeping.
World Wildlife
Fund - organized by Julian Huxley and IUCN.
|
1964
|
Wilderness Act
of 1964 - and how it
came to be.
UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development established.
|
1968
|
ECOSOC
Resolution 1296 - directed by Dr. Robert Muller, establishes "Consultative Status"
for NGOs (non-government organizations).
Lucis Trust among first NGOs
accredited.
Club of
Rome - organized, and published
Limits to Growth.
|
1970
|
First Earth
Day - founder,
Gaylord Nelson. Another view of Earth Day.
World
Conference on Religion and Peace - opened
headquartrs at the U.N. Center. Held conference in Kyoto, Japan, was
accredited by ECOSOC in 1973.
Environmental
Protection Agency - created.
|
1971
|
RAMSAR Treaty
on Wetlands - signed in Ramsar, Iran. IUCN driving
force behind RAMSAR.
|
1972
|
Clean Water
Act - passed by Congress. Wetland definition expanded by lawsuit
brought by National Wildlife Federation, resulting in "Tulloch" decision
in 1993. Tulloch overturned in
1997.
World
Heritage Convention - adopted by UNESCO. Technical Review.
Earth
Summit I - First U.N. Conference on Environment.
Maurice Strong
Conference leader.
James Parks
Morton became dean of the Cathedral of St. John the
Divine in New York City.
|
1973
|
CITES
Signed - (March 3 - Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species).
IUCN and WWF driving force behind CITES.
Endangered Species
Act - became U.S. law.
U.N. Environment
Program - launched with Maurice Strong first
Executive
Director.
Trilateral
Commission - formed, most participants also members of Council on Foreign
Relations.
UNEP's
Regional
Seas Program - expands environmental outreach. Survey
of U.S. participation.
|
1975
|
Belgrade
Charter - Global Framework for Environmental
Education. Promoted by NAAEE
|
1976
|
HABITAT
I - adopts U.N. policy on land. William K. Reilly
and Carla Hills signed for U.S.
Federal Land Policy
Management Act - adopted.
International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - becomes
international law.
UNIFEM - created to promote womens' rights. |
1978
|
Global
Taxation - first proposed by James Tobin. Current status.
|
1979
|
U.S. MAB
- (Man and the Biosphere Program) launched by
agency agreement with UNESCO.
First
World Climate Conference - held in Geneva,
Switzerland.
World Core
Curriculum - introduced by Dr. Robert Muller,
through the Robert Muller Schools.
CEDAW - (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women) adopted by the U.N. General
Assembly. |
1980
|
World
Conservation Strategy - published jointly by
UNEP, IUCN, and WWF.
MacBride
Commission - (International Commission for the
Study of Communications Problems. Report: Many
Voices, One World. Chaired by Sean MacBride. Early
efforts to control communications.
Brandt Commission
- (Independent
Commission on International Development) chaired
by Willy
Brandt. Report: North-South: A Program for Survival
linked economic equity to development and was beginning of "sustainable development" concept.
|
1982
|
Palme Commission - (Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security
Issues). Report: Common Security: A Blueprint For Survival
linked security to development. Chaired by Olof
Palme.
World Resources Institute - organized with help from Russell
E. Train. Gustave
Speth first director.
World
Charter for Nature - precursor to the Earth Charter.
U.N.
Convention on the Law of the seas - which created
the
International Seabed Authority.
|
1985
|
U.N. Convention on Ozone
Depleting Substances - adopted in Vienna,
Austria.
|
1987
|
Montreal
Protocol - converts voluntary Ozone Treaty into
international law.
Brundtland
Commission - (World Commission on Environment and
Development). Report: Our Common Future, which defined
"sustainable development". Chaired by
Gro
Harlem Brundtland. Members included Shridath
Ramphal and
Maurice
Strong .
Institute for
Global Communications - created by the
Tides
Foundation to facilitate NGO communications.
|
1988
|
Global
Forum on Human Survival - held in Oxford,
England. Co-sponsored by the
Temple of Understanding and the
U.N. Committee on Parliamentarians and Population, chaired by
James
Parks Morton.
James
Lovelock was the featured speaker.
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change - created by WMO and UNEP.
|
1989
|
Berlin Wall
falls - (November 9), USSR
begins to disintegrate.
Convention on Rights
of the Child - adopted by the U.N.
Climate Action
Network - created in Germany to promote climate treaty. |
1990
|
Global
Forum on Human Survival - held in Moscow, hosted
by
Mikhail
Gorbachev, and Javier Perez de Cuellar, chaired by James Parks
Morton.
World Summit for
Children - held in New York; adopted Plan of
Action.
Women's Environment and Development
Organization (WEDO) - created by
Bella
Abzug.
International Council for
Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) - created at the
invitation of the U.N.,to
advance Agenda 21 at the local level. |
1991
|
Caring
for the Earth - published jointly by UNEP,
IUCN, and WWF.
Stockholm
Initiative on Global Security and Governance -
origin of Commission on Global Goverance.
|
1992
|
Commission on Global
Governance - established. Willy Brandt, with the
blessings of
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, appointed
Ingvar Carlsson and
Shridath Ramphal (IUCN president) as co-chairs.
Global Biodiversity
Strategy - published jointly by UNEP, IUCN,
WWF, and WRI.
U.N. Conference
on Environment and Development (UNCED) - Rio de
Janeiro. Chaired by Maurice Strong. Produced: Agenda 21; Convention on Biological Diversity;
Framework Convention on Climate
Change; Statement of
Forest Principles; and the Rio
Declaration.
U.N. Commission on
Sustainable Development - created to advance
Agenda 21.
Earth
Council - created in Costa Rica by Maurice
Strong to coordinate global implementation of Agenda
21 through "National Councils" on Sustainable Development.
National Religious Partnership for the
Environment - outgrowth of Temple of
Understanding's "Joint Appeal."
The Wildlands Project
- published by Dave Foreman,
co-founder of Earth
First!. Project seeks to
convert half of America to wilderness. |
1993
|
President's Council on
Sustainable Development - created by Executive
Order No. 12852 to implement Agenda 21 in America, co-chaired by WRI president, Jonathan Lash.
First
Meridian Conference on Global Governance - held in
Bolinas, California.
World Conference on
Human Rights - in Vienna.
Green Cross -
founded by Mikhail Gorbachev.
BIONET - created to promote Convention on Biological Diversity. |
1994
|
World Trade Organization - formed at Uruguay round of GATT negotiations.
U.N. Conference on
Population and Development - in Cairo
|
1995
|
World Summit on
Social Development - in Copenhagen.
Commission
on Sustainable Development - met in New
York.
Fourth World Women's
Congress - in Beijing.
Documents.
State of the
World Forum - San Francisco, hosted by Mikhail
Gorbachev and Maurice Strong.
Our Global Neighborhood - final report released by the Commission on Global
Governance.
Analysis - of Commission report.
Global
Biodiversity Assessment - released by UNEP.
Coordinated by
Robert Watson.
|
1996
|
U.N. Conference on
Human Settlements (HABITAT II) - Istanbul. Community
Sustainability , U.S. HUD's report to the
conference.
Istanbul
Declaration on Human Settlements.
Campaign for
U.N. Reform - organized to lobby for global
governance.
|
1997
|
Al Gore's report
- to the U.N. at Rio +5. A broader view of Agenda 21 implementation.
Kyoto Protocol - Adopted in Kyoto, Japan. Converts voluntary climate
change treaty to binding international law. On-site reports.
International
Conference on Environment and Society - sponsored
by UNESCO in Thessalonica.
Survey
of environmental education movement.
|
1998
|
International Criminal
Court - created in Rome.
On-site
reports from Rome.
International Action
Network on Small Arms (IANSA) - created to lobby for
U.N. gun control.
U.N. Climate
Change Conference - in Buenos Aires. |
1999
|
Charter for Global
Democracy - consolidates recommendations of
Commission on Global Governance into 12 principles.
World NGO Conference - held in Canada to promote plan for "The Peoples
Assembly."
U.N.
Climate Change Conference - in Bonn.
|
2000
|
Earth
Charter - final draft.
NGO Millennium
Forum - New York, precursor to "The People's Assembly."
UNDPI/NGO
Forum - August 28 - 30, New York (to strengthen
"Civil Society" in UN operations)
Millennium Peace
Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders - August 28 - 31, New York
State of the World Forum
- September 4 - 10, New York
Millennium Assembly - September 5 - 8, New York
Millennium Summit
- September 6 -8, New York |