• July 1944.  Agreement by 44 of the Allied Powers (the Bretton Woods Agreement) which established rules by which the industrial powers would regulate money.   Lots of stuff here - IMF & the IBRD (now part of the world bank) - but the key was an central bank obligations to that maintained the exchange rate and plus or minus one percent in terms of gold and the ability of the IMF to bridge temporary imbalances of payments.
• Post War.  Aster the WWII, the U.S. dollars grow in popularity as a currency for international currency transactions.  U.S. military strength, the fixed relationship of the dollar to gold ($35 an ounce), and the US government commitment U.S. government to convert dollars into gold made the dollar as good as gold.   In fact, the dollar was even better than gold: it earned interest and it was more flexible than gold. 
• March 18, 1968.  US congress repeal the 25% backing of U.S. dollars by gold reserves. 
• 1970.  US Gold reserves decrease significantly - from 55% (to outstanding currency) to 22%.
• August 15, 1971   US President Nixon unilaterally terminates the Bretton Wood Agreement.
• Dec 31, 1971, Gold Trading at $44.20/ounce
• Dec 31, 1972 Gold trading at $70.30/ounce and still climbing.
• January 1973   10 months before the Arab Oil Embargo, the US stock market begins a 694 days decline where the major index would fall around 45%.  London Financial Times 30, begins a 73% decline, the Hong Kong Seng Index, begins a 83% decline.
• February 1973, after a last-gasp devaluation of the dollar to $44/ounce, the Bretton Woods currency exchange markets closed,  and reopened in March in a floating currency regime.
• Oct 1973.  "Arab Oil Embargo".  Oct 6, 1973 Yom Kippur War.  Oct 12 U.S. "overtly" begins supplying arms to Israel.   Oct 16, 1973 Middle east OPEC members raised posted prices 17% to $3.65, announced production cuts, and an embargo on deliveries to the US.   Middle East oil price had been rising ever since the US terminated the Bretton Woods Agreement.  Saudi crude was $1 in 1970, and had increased to $3 just prior to the Oil Embargo.  Yes there was lots of drama associated with the Embargo.  However, the embargo was as much (if not more) a revolt against the dollar as it was a protest again western support for Israel.  My experience is that history is written a certain way to obfuscate the true dynamics of the situation.
• Dec 1974.  On Christmas day, after over a year of aggressive action, OPEC cancels January production cut.  Diplomatic solutions to the the Israel Problem starts to materialize shortly thereafter in January 1975

BLOCK OF TIME

• 1695.  The UK adopted a gold standard for the settlement of international trade debt.  Other countries follow but not for 150 years or so.
• 1865.  European countries form the Latin Monetary Union.
• 1873.  Glut of Silver in Europe.  Collapse of the free transferability of silver and gold within the Latin Monetary Union.  US begins to regulate the transferability of silver and gold.
• 1893.  Panic thereof.  Bimetalic metal standard in the US collapses.  US essentially goes to a gold standard.
• 1945 - 1971  Gold / Dollar system
• 1971 - 1981  "Oil system".  Oils lure begins to end with the availability of high interest earning US dollar denominated securities back by the full faith and credit of the USA. 
• 1981.  Beginning of a "Age of Financial Assets"