According to a survey of more than 1,000 British adults, the use of nuclear weapons to bomb the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki between August 6-9, 1945 was more pivotal than a series of other milestones, including events that sparked World War I and the fall of Communism in Europe.
Researchers found that more than one in four people rated the end of the World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb on the twin cities as the most significant.
Next most significant was 9/11 with 16 per cent of those polled rating the terrorist attacks in the US as the most monumental, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
An estimated 150,000 to 220,000 people were killed in the two Japanese cities due to the bombings which represents the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date, the report said.
The research, commissioned by adult learning website Love to Learn, marks the release of a new on-line course exploring 'Turning Points in Modern History'.
The course looks at the causes and effects of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that went on to trigger World War I, along with five other historical turning points up to the present day.
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The research uncovers how the 50-plus generation perceives key events, spanning from the beginning of the First World War to the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001.
People polled also identified the 9/11 attacks on the US as more significant than Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the 1930s.
Opinions varied according to age with younger respondents in their early fifties putting more significance on recent events such as 9/11.
Adults in their seventies were more likely to cite the start of the World War II and Hitler's rise to power.
More than three-quarters of people (77 per cent) said that the end of the World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb should be continued to be taught in History lessons in schools.