29 July 1957

The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy and seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Established in 1957, it operates independently of the United Nations but reports to both the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

Promoting Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy:
The IAEA assists its member states in using nuclear technology for various applications, including electricity generation, medical uses, agriculture, and environmental protection.
It provides technical cooperation and facilitates research and development in nuclear science and technology.

Safeguards and Non-Proliferation:
The IAEA implements safeguards to verify that nuclear materials are not diverted from peaceful activities to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
It conducts inspections and monitors nuclear facilities to ensure compliance with non-proliferation agreements.

Safety and Security:
The IAEA establishes international safety standards and provides guidance and assistance to enhance nuclear safety and security.
It helps countries protect nuclear materials and facilities from accidents, theft, and terrorist attacks.

Regulatory Framework and Guidance:
The agency offers regulatory assistance to countries developing or expanding their nuclear programs.
It provides a forum for the exchange of information and best practices among member states.

Publications and Reports:
The IAEA publishes various reports, guidelines, and technical documents on nuclear technology, safety, and security.
It disseminates information to support decision-making and policy development in member states.

Governance:

The IAEA is governed by a General Conference of all member states, which meets annually.
The Board of Governors, consisting of 35 member states, oversees the agency’s operations and makes key policy decisions.
The Director General, appointed by the Board of Governors, is the chief executive officer of the IAEA.

29 July 1957

The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an independent international organization that serves as the global focal point for cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. It was established on July 29, 1957, by the United Nations (UN) in response to the “Atoms for Peace” initiative proposed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

The IAEA’s main objectives are:

Promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy: The agency facilitates the transfer of nuclear technology and knowledge to member states for various peaceful applications, such as electricity generation, medicine, agriculture, industry, and scientific research.

Preventing the spread of nuclear weapons: The IAEA plays a crucial role in verifying and ensuring that nuclear materials and facilities are used exclusively for peaceful purposes. It safeguards nuclear materials and facilities to prevent their diversion to nuclear weapons development.

Enhancing nuclear safety and security: The agency assists member states in establishing and maintaining high levels of nuclear safety to protect people and the environment from the potential hazards of nuclear activities. It also supports efforts to prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism.

Promoting nuclear science and technology: The IAEA fosters research and development in nuclear science and technology, helping member states benefit from the peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

The IAEA operates through its Secretariat, which is based in Vienna, Austria. Member states voluntarily contribute to the agency’s budget and resources, and its work is guided by the General Conference and the Board of Governors. The General Conference, consisting of all member states, meets annually to set the agency’s policies and budget, while the Board of Governors, composed of 35 member states elected by the General Conference, meets periodically to make decisions on various technical and policy matters.

The IAEA collaborates with other international organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations to fulfill its mission effectively. Its work is vital in promoting the responsible and safe use of nuclear energy while preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

29 July 1914

The Cape Cod Canal opened.

Cape Cod, from its “fist” at Provincetown to its “elbow” off Chatham, presents almost 50 miles of coastline directly exposed to the North Atlantic, without a harbor. It has been said that if the hulls of all the vessels wrecked along the Nauset shore were placed end to end they would form a solid bulwark along the entire coast. Off the south coast Pollock Rip, Great Round Shoals, Cross Rip and Nantucket Shoals converge in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.

When the pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod, they soon discovered how to avoid the local hazards. The Scusset River flowed into Massachussetts Bay near the “shoulder” of the Cape, and came within a mile of the Manomet River, which flowed into Buzzards Bay. They established a post to trade with the Dutch in New Amsterdam and with local Wampanoag tribal members, and it didn’t take long for the locals to start planning how to expand this portage into an enduring link across the isthmus.

During the Revolutionary War George Washington, looking for ways to give greater security to the American fleet, commissioned Thomas Machin, an Engineer with the Continental Army, to investigate the feasibility of a canal at the Pilgrim’s crossing. His report, recommending that a Canal be built, survives as the first known Cape Cod Canal survey.

Through the nineteenth century, the passage around Cape Cod continued to be an unavoidable peril for those travelling between New England and the Mid-Atlantic States – up to 500 ships a day took the passage. Numerous surveys for a canal were conducted by various individuals and groups. Some were granted charters and a few actually began construction. But, they either ran out of money or were overwhelmed by the enormity of the project. Meanwhile, the toll of shipwrecks along the outer banks continued to mount. By the late 1880s, shipwrecks occurred at the rate of one every two weeks.

In 1904, August Belmont II became interested in the Canal project. He purchased and reorganized the Boston, Cape Cod and New York Canal Company, which had held a charter since 1899, and enlisted the services of Civil Engineer William Barclay Parsons. On June 22, 1909, he ceremoniously lifted the first shovelful of earth at Bournedale, promising “not to desert the task until the last shovelful has been dug”.

Schooners soon arrived from Maine with granite for construction of a breakwater, which they dropped into place on the east end of the Canal. Two dredges in Buzzards Bay began to work on the westerly approach. By 1910 the Canal project was fully underway; a fleet of twenty-six dredges dug from both bays towards the middle. The Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was completed in September of 1910, and the old Bourne and Sagamore highway bridges were completed in 1911 and 1913.

With additional dredging equipment now on site, the Canal project progressed steadily. By April 1914, only one dam separated the waters of Cape Cod Bay from Buzzards Bay. To celebrate the progress, Belmont ceremoniously blended bottles of water from both bays before opening the final sluiceway.

On July 29, 1914, the Cape Cod Canal ceremoniously opened as a privately operated toll waterway. A festive Parade of Ships included the excursion steamer ROSE STANDISH, the destroyer MCDOUGALL carrying Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Belmont’s eighty-one foot yacht, the SCOUT.

Mr. Belmont achieved his objective: The Cape Cod Canal opened seventeen days before the Panama Canal.

29 July 1957

The International Atomic Energy Agency is set up.

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The IAEA was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology. The Agency’s genesis was U.S. President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953.

The U.S. Ratification of the Statute by President Eisenhower, 29 July 1957, marks the official birth of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In the press conference following the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., President Eisenhower evoked his address to the UN General Assembly in December 1953, at which he had proposed to establish the IAEA.

The IAEA is strongly linked to nuclear technology and its controversial applications, either as a weapon or as a practical and useful tool. The ideas President Eisenhower expressed in his speech in 1953 helped shape the IAEA’s Statute, which 81 nations unanimously approved in October 1956.

The Agency was set up as the world’s “Atoms for Peace” organization within the United Nations family. From the beginning, it was given the mandate to work with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. The objectives of the IAEA’s dual mission – to promote and control the Atom – are defined in Article II of the IAEA Statute.

In October 1957, the delegates to the First General Conference decided to establish the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Until the opening of the Vienna International Centre in August 1979, the old Grand Hotel next to the Vienna Opera House served as the Agency’s temporary headquarters.

The IAEA has also two regional offices located in Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan, as well as two liaison offices in New York City, United States of America and Geneva, Switzerland. The Agency runs laboratories specialized in nuclear technology in Vienna and Seibersdorf, Austria, opened in1961, and, since 1961, in Monaco.