1385

Viet Nam's King Le Thai To is born as Le Loi. After the victory of the 10-year Lam Son uprising led by him against Ming invaders, he was crowned king of Viet Nam in 1428 and reigned until his death in 1433.

1721

The Treaty of Nystad is signed in Finland between Sweden and Russia which ends the Great Northern War (1700-21). Sweden was forced to cede Livonia, Estonia and Ingria, part of Karelia.

1855

Birth of Robert Koldewey, German archaeologist; he determined that the Babylon of the Bible was a historical reality.

1907

The British colony of New Zealand becomes a dominion.

1919

The Treaty of Saint Germain is signed by the victorious Allied powers and Austria, by which parts of pre-war German Austria were ceded to Italy and Czechoslovakia; Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany.

1955

The Viet Nam National Front is re-organised as the Viet Nam Fatherland Front after the victory of the resistance war against the French.

1967

The people of Gibraltar vote by almost 100 per cent to retain British sovereignty, rejecting Spanish rule.

1972

In the American War, south Viet Nam liberation armed forces attack Bien Hoa airport in southern Song Be Province, exploding four bomb stores, destroying about 200 aircraft and inflicting hundreds of casualties.

1974

Portugal recognises the independence of Guinea-Bissau under the leadership of Luiz Cabral.

1999

Three bombs explode in apartment buildings in Moscow and Volgodonsk, in southern Russia, killing at least 229 people and sparking speculation of a terrorist campaign in Russia. — AP/REUTERS