1824

Birth of Alexandre Dumas Junior, son of the French author of The Three Musketeers. He wrote 16 plays including Le Fils Naturel, and the novel La Dame aux Camelias.

1839

The Opium War between China and Britain begins after Chinese authorities seize and burn British cargoes of opium.

1866

A transatlantic cable laid by the steamer Great Eastern establishes reliable communication by telegraph between the United States and England.

1909

Orville Wright tests the US Army's first airplane for one hour, 12 minutes.

1921

Canadians Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin for the first time.

1947

Viet Nam chooses this date as the War Invalids and Martyrs' Day.

1953

An armistice is signed at Panmunjom, after three years of negotiations. This agreement, in practice, ends the Korean War.

1972

Vietnamese liberation forces in Quang Tri Province kill and capture 3,900 US and Sai Gon Marines at Tri Buu, Thach Han and Bac Tram Ly. They also destroy 108 aircraft, 37 artillery guns and 21 armoured vehicles.

1974

The House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 to recommend US President Richard Nixon's impeachment on an obstruction of justice charge in the Watergate case.

1996

A pipe bomb explodes during the Olympic Games in Atlanta, when the United States is hosting the games, killing one and injuring more than 100 people. — AP/REUTERS