Monday, August 14 1385 Portuguese forces thwarted an attempted invasion by John I of Castile at the battle of Aljubarrota, securing independence for the Portuguese.
1678 William of Orange attacked the French Army near Mons.
The French, caught by surprise, rallied and repulsed William who lost several thousand men.
1742 Pius VII, pope from 1800-23, born. He was imprisoned by Napoleon 1809-14.
1893 France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration plates.
1900 The Boxer rebellion, a peasant uprising aimed at forcing all foreigners from China, was finally defeated when an international force captured Peking.
1920 King Albert of Belgium opened the Seventh Olympic games in Antwerp.
1935 The Social Security Act, establishing old age benefits and unemployment insurance, was passed by the U.S. Congress.
1941 The Atlantic charter was signed by U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill.
1945 Japan accepted the Allies' terms of unconditional surrender, ending World War II.
1949 Konrad Adenauer was appointed first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
1962 After three and a half years of digging, Italian and French workers completed the Road Tunnel under Mont Blanc, when the last nine feet (three meters) separating the two sides was dynamited.
1969 The British government authorized the use of troops in Northern Ireland.
1970 Yugoslavia and the Vatican announced the resumption of full diplomatic relations after an 18-year break.
1971 Bahrain declared itself a fully independent and sovereign state.
1972 A Soviet Ilyushin 62 exploded after take off from Schoenefeld Airport, East Berlin, killing all 156 aboard.
1974 Fighting resumed in Cyprus after peace talks in Geneva broke down over a Turkish demand for autonomous regions on the island.
1986 Riots broke out across Pakistan against the government of President Zia; three people were shot dead and Benazir Bhutto was arrested.
1987 A Sri Lankan soldier in a guard of honor for visiting Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi broke ranks and struck him with his rifle butt.
1988 Enzo Ferrari, Italian racing pioneer and sports car builder, died at his home in Modena aged 90.
1989 P.W. Botha resigned as South African president.
1992 Judge John Sirica, a central figure in the Watergate scandal, died.
He ordered President Nixon to hand over his White House tapes.
1996 The National Party, the architects of South African apartheid, moved to the opposition benches for the first time in 48 years.
1997 Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168 people.
1997 Two days of celebrations started in India and Pakistan to mark the 50th anniversary of their independence from Britain at midnight August 14, 1947.