The name "United Nations", coined by United States President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United
Nations of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when
representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue
fighting together against the Axis Powers.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met
in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International
Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates
deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the
representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and
the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in
August-October 1944.
The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives
of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the
Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51
Member States.