World War III (Star Trek)
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In the fictional Star Trek universe, World War III is a nuclear war that devastated much of Earth took place during the mid-21st Century (estimated as 2050-2053, but never definitively stated).
Some 600 million people died during this war. In the post-atomic horror afterwards, much of Earth reverted to a barbaric state, and legal systems were adopted that ended many individual rights including the right to legal counsel. An attempt was made to execute all lawyers during the post-atomic horror, which was at the very least largely successful. According to the novels of William Shatner, the killing of lawyers began with hangings in the so-called "Kansas Inquisition," an event well known to and possibly even witnessed by the binge-drinking visionary Zefram Cochrane. 2079, the New United Nations was disbanded after failing to end the war through peace efforts. The exact cause of the war has never been established in canon.
The Eugenics Wars, described in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed" as taking place in the 1990s, are sometimes referred to as World War III, however Star Trek: The Next Generation established that World War III was a separate, 21st Century conflict. It was also strongly suggested in Star Trek: Voyager that the Eugenics Wars were not a global conflict since an episode of that series featured a visit to Los Angeles in 1996, seemingly untouched by the war.
Following the war, with almost no major governments remaining, Earth was left to slowly recover from the nuclear carnage of World War III. Scientific advancement continued, however, and in 2063 the development of the first warp engine was followed by first contact with Vulcans, ending the chapter of the post-World War III dystopia and beginning one of prosperity and hope.
The exact ending of the post-atomic horror is uncertain. Star Trek: First Contact, which takes place in 2063, implies that it was already over. However in the TNG premiere episode, "Encounter at Farpoint" Q mentioned that the trial he was holding for the Enterprise command crew was based on a court of the year 2079. This would indicate that the post-atomic horror did not end until at least 2079. But within 100 years of Zefram Cochrane making his first warp flight, humanity had solved most of the problems that had plagued them for centuries, and worked to become a full member of the interstellar community.