An exhibit celebrating the sixty-year history of the United Nations is now on display in Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University. Organized by Sandy Peterson, United Nations Depository Librarian, and Debbie Falvey, United Nations Library Services Assistant, the display follows the development and change that the United Nations has experienced since its founding.

The name “United Nations”, coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the “Declaration by United Nations” of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, in August-October 1944. The representatives of the 50 countries signed the Charter on 26 June 1945. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 member states.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of other signatories had ratified the Charter. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

The exhibit, opening on February 1, 2006, will be on display through April 30, 2006, in the Nave. The opening times for Sterling Memorial Library may be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/hours. The Government Documents and Information Center, Mudd Library, 38 Mansfield Street, is the United Nations depository at Yale University and is open Monday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., with reduced hours during recess and holiday periods.

Location: SML

Start Date: 02/01/2006

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