1790

The ship Columbia returns to Boston Harbor after a three-year circumnavigation, becoming the first ship to carry the American flag around the world.

1792

Revolutionary commune is established in Paris, France to remove the influence of government.

1830

French parliament declares Louis-Philippe king after Charles X is forced to abdicate by the July Revolution, inaugurating the constitutional "July Monarchy".

1842

The Webster-Ashburton Treaty between the US and Britain is signed, establishing the boundary between the United States and Canada from Maine to the Great Lakes.

1898

Spain formally accepts peace terms ending the Spanish-American War.

1945

In World War II, the US drops the second atomic bomb, destroying more than half of Nagasaki, Japan, killing over 70,000 people.

1965

Singapore becomes an independent republic within the commonwealth after seceding from Malaysia.

1974

Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to resign from office. Gerald R Ford succeeded him.

1984

France and Britain start an international effort by dispatching ships at the Suez Canal to help clear the Red Sea of mines.

1996

Ukrainian and Polish scientists discover an undisturbed 2,200-year-old tomb of a Scythian military commander containing some 1,000 gold and silver decorations and weapons in central Ukraine.

1997

Viet Nam and Thailand sign an agreement on sea borders in the Gulf of Thailand, defining the borders of the two countries including their continental shelves and exclusive economic zones.— REUTERS/AP/VNS