The term United Nations, originally suggested?by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was?first used in the Declaration by United Nations,?signed in Washington, D.C.,?on 1 January 1942—in the midst?of the Second World War. In the Declaration, representatives of 26?nations fighting against the Axis Powers resolved to cooperate in winning?the war. The signatories?subscribed to the purposes?and principles?embodied in the Atlantic?Charter, which had been signed?by the President of the United States and the?Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in?1941.?
Click ?to read the full texts of the Declaration and Charter, and?explore the evolution of the United Nations as recorded in the?very first volume of the Yearbook, covering the?1946–47 period.