1018

Death of Van Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist master in the Ly dynasty. He assisted successive kings to build and defend the country against foreign aggressors, and was named National Master.

1859

Watched by 25,000 people, Charles Blondin walks across the Niagara Falls, from the US to Canada, on a tightrope.

1894

London's Tower Bridge across the River Thames is officially opened.

1913

The Second Balkan War begins when Bulgaria attacks Serbian and Greek positions.

1936

Margaret Mitchell's epic Gone with the Wind is published. It becomes an all-time bestseller.

1960

The Republic of Congo achieves independence from Belgium.

1965

A ceasefire is signed between India and Pakistan.

1967

Cuba sends its ambassador to the National Front for the Liberation of South Viet Nam.

1971

The US Supreme Court rules that the Pentagon Papers, documents detailing the American involvement in the Viet Nam War, can be published. The Nixon government had tried to suppress them.

1985

Inauguration of Chuong Duong, the second longest bridge spanning the Hong (Red) River in Ha Noi. The 1.2km bridge was built entirely by Vietnamese people.

1990

East and West Germany merge their economies, with the East adopting the Deutschemark as its currency.

1997

Hong Kong ends 156 years under British rule as it is transferred to the sovereignty of China.

2002

The US vetoes a UN Security Council resolution extending the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina by six months, citing US concerns over the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

2006

A doping scandal knocks top Tour de France riders out of the race, throwing the world's most glamorous cycling event into chaos.

2008

US President George W Bush signs legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan co-operation.

2009

A Yemeni Airbus 310 jetliner carrying 153 people crashes in the Indian Ocean as it comes in for a landing during howling winds on the island nation of Comoros. Yemeni officials say a teenage girl survives. — AP/REUTERS/VNS