301-San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, founded by Saint Marinus
1650-Oliver Cromwell's English New Model Army defeats a Scottish force in a surprise attack at the Battle of Dunbar
1783-Treaty of Paris signed in Paris ends the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States of America
1791-The new French Constitution, declaring France a constitutional monarchy, is passed by the National Assembly during the French Revolution
1900-With a proclamation by General Lord Roberts, Britain annexes the Boer Republic of South Africa
1939-World War II: Britain declares war on Germany after the invasion of Poland; France follows six hours later, quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada
1944-Holocaust diarist Anne Frank is sent to Auschwitz concentration camp
1967-Sweden begins driving on the right-hand side of the road (Dagen H)
1988-An estimated 50,000 Kurdish civilians and soldiers are killed by Iraq by this date, many using chemical weapons, in the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War