1827

Signing of the Treaty of London, under which Russia, Britain and France recognise the autonomy of Greece and agree to force truce on the Sultan of Turkey.

1885

French chemist Louis Pasteur successfully treats a patient with his anti-rabies vaccine.

1911

Ho Chi Minh arrives in Marseilles, France, for the first time under the alias of Nguyen Van Ba, on his long quest for a way to save his country from French rule.

1923

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.

1967

Death of General Nguyen Chi Thanh (born 1914). He was secretary of the Southern Section of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in the war against US aggression.

1968

The Solomon Islands become independent from Britain.

1971

Death of Louis Armstrong, jazz musician. His groups, the Hot Five and Hot Seven, from 1925-27, had a revolutionary impact on jazz.

1982

The foreign ministers of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia meet in HCM City to discuss regional issues. Viet Nam and Cambodia sign a historical agreement on the territorial waters of the two countries.

1997

Construction work starts on the 1,535m-long My Thuan Bridge, the first-ever spanning the Tien River, a Mekong tributary, with Australian assistance.

2005

New York Times reporter Judith Miller is jailed for refusing to divulge a confidential source to a grand jury investigating the Bush administration's leak of an undercover CIA operative's name.

2006

Felipe Calderon wins the official count in Mexico's disputed presidential race.

2008

Firefighters in California attempt to protect thousands of homes from a huge wildfire. More than 300 blazes are still burning around the state. — REUTERS/AP