On this day in history, June 26, 1945, the United Nations was formally established with the signing of the U.N. Charter in San Francisco, California.
Article 111 of the charter indicated, “The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French, Russian, English, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. Duly certified copies thereof shall be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of the other signatory states,” according to the National Archives.
The U.N. Charter was signed by representatives of the 50 countries attending the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, according to the United Nations official website.
The name “United Nations” originated when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1941, described the countries fighting against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) in World War II.
“The name was first used officially on Jan. 1, 1942, when 26 states joined in the Declaration by the United Nations, pledging to continue their joint war effort and not to make peace separately,” according to the National Archives.
In October 1943, the major Allied powers — Great Britain, the United States, the USSR, and China — assembled in Moscow for the Moscow Declaration.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is shown addressing the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City in 2022. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The delegates “sketched out” the form of the world body over the course seven weeks, although disagreements occurred on the issues of membership and voting, it also said.
Compromise was reached by the “Big Three” — the U.S., Britain and the USSR — at the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
All countries that had adhered to the 1942 Declaration by the United Nations were invited to the United Nations founding conference, History.com noted.
The goal of the San Francisco Conference, formally known as The United Nations Conference on International Organization, according to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, was to set the foundations and establish a framework for the United Nations.
“There were 850 delegates from 50 countries at the Conference — 26 of which had signed the original 1942 Declaration of the United Nations. At the time of the conference, there was no internationally recognized Polish Government, therefore, despite being one of the original signatories of the Declaration of United Nations, Poland did not have a representative at the conference,” the same museum also said.
The date is annually observed as United Nations Day.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JUNE 6, 1944, US AND ALLIES INVADE NORMANDY IN GREATEST MILITARY INVASION
As President Truman said in 1945, the U.N. Charter is “proof that nations, like men, can state their differences, can face them, and then can find common ground on which to stand,” according to the White House’s website.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The work of the United Nations covers these main objectives: Maintain international peace and security, protect human rights and deliver humanitarian aid, according to United Nations official website.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER