The League of Nations is established

The League of Nations, an international organisation founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919-1920, convened and met for the first time in London. The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global welfare. The idea originated in the minds of several statesmen, including President Woodrow Wilson of the United States and General J.C. Smuts of South Africa. Smuts gave substance to the vague aspirations in a paper later published as The League of Nations, a practical suggestion and served on the committee which drafted the covenant of the League in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles. South Africa was one of the founding members of the League.