331-BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela
1688-Prince William of Orange accepts invitation to take up the British crown
1814-Opening of the Congress of Vienna, redraws Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte
1867-Karl Marx publishes "Das Kapital" in Berlin, a description of the capitalist system, its instability and tendency to self-destruction
1908-Henry Ford introduces the Model T car, priced at $825
1918-World War I: Combined Arab and British force under T. E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, captures Damascus from the Turks
1988-Mikhail Gorbachev becomes chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of state of the Soviet Union