12th March 1933: The first “fireside chat” delivered by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the radio

Recognising that the broadcast had helped bridge the gap between government action and public understanding, fireside chats became a defining feature of Roosevelt’s leadership and over the next twelve years he would deliver a total of thirty broadcasts on subjects ranging from economic recovery to war.

4th February 1945: Yalta Conference begins, attended by the ‘Big Three’ of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin

The conference saw Allied leaders United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin meet to discuss the government of post-war Europe.

1st January 1942: Declaration by the United Nations agreed and signed by the four major Allied nations during the Second World War

The original signatories – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the USSR’s Ambassador to the US Maxim Litvinov, and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs T. V. Soong – were joined the next day by a further 24 nations.

23rd February 1903: US President Theodore Roosevelt leases Guantanamo Bay from Cuba in perpetuity

Although Cuba retained sovereignty over Guantanamo Bay, the arrangement ensured that the United States maintained a strategic military presence in the Caribbean. The 45 square mile area was selected as most suitable for a naval base and coaling station due to its deep-water harbour and strategic location on Cuba’s south-eastern coast.