1688

Turks lose Belgrade to Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, whose forces subsequently occupy Bosnia, Serbia and Wallachia.

1813

French under Marshal Michel Ney are defeated by Prussians at Dennewitz in Germany.

1901

US President William McKinley is shot by an anarchist and dies eight days later.

1930

President Hipolito Yrigoyen of Argentina is toppled by a military coup.

1941

Jews over the age of six in Germany are forced to wear yellow stars of David.

1944

The German V-2 missile, the precursor of modern ballistic missiles, is used for the first time, against Paris.

1968

Kingdom of Swaziland gains independence from Britain.

1975

More than 2,300 people are killed by an earthquake in eastern Turkey.

1991

Soviet Union recognises the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

1993

Six oil-producing Arab nations give crucial endorsement to the peace deal that would give Palestinians self-rule.

1994

Irish premier Albert Reynolds and Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish Republican Army-allied Sinn Fein party, commit to peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland.

2000

The largest gathering of global leaders in history assembles at the UN Millennium Summit to chart an agenda for the 21st century.

2001

The first Air France Concorde plane in more than a year is cleared for commercial flights. The carrier's fleet had been grounded after a Concorde crashed outside Paris in July 2000, killing 113 people. — AP