| Events in the Life of William McChesney Martin Jr. |
Export-Import Bank
1946-1949 |
| December 3, 1945 | William McChesney Martin Jr. is released from active duty with the U.S. Army at the rank of colonel. |
| December 3, 1945 | William McChesney Martin Jr. is appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. |
| February 14, 1946 | The Bank of England is nationalized. |
| March 1, 1947 | The International Monetary Fund begins to operate. |
| March 12, 1947 | In a statement to the U.S. Congress, which becomes known as the Truman Doctrine, President Truman states that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey to prevent them from becoming communist. |
| May 22, 1947 | Truman Doctrine is signed and $400 million in military and economic aid is made available to Turkey and Greece. |
| June 5, 1947 | Secretary of State George Marshall proposes a plan to offer American aid to promote European recovery and reconstruction. This speech at Harvard University evolves into the Marshall Plan. |
| June 9, 1947 | The Export-Import Bank of Washington is reincorporated under federal charter. |
| July 26, 1947 | The National Security Act is signed, creating the CIA, Department of Defense, National Security Council, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It takes effect September 18, 1947. |
| March 30, 1948 | William McChesney Martin Jr. leaves to attend the Ninth International Conference of American States in Bogota, Colombia, with Secretary of State George Marshall, Secretary of the Treasury John Snyder, and Secretary of Commerce W. Averell Harriman. |
| April 15, 1948 | Thomas B. McCabe becomes Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. He serves until March 31, 1951. |
| June 25, 1948 | In a joint operation, the British and American air forces begin an airlift to supply the Allied sectors of Berlin with food and fuel after the Soviet Union blocks access to the city, which is located deep in the Soviet zone of Germany. |
| January 17, 1949 | The first Volkswagen Beetle arrives in the United States. Only two 1949 models are sold. |
| February 8, 1949 | William McChesney Martin Jr. is sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. |
