The Kursk: A Submarine in Troubled Waters

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Cities of the Underworld: New York

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Vic Reeves’ Pirates: Henry Avery  >>>

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state

Territory that forms its own domestic and foreign policy, acting through laws that are typically decided by a government and carried out, by force if necessary, by agents of that government. It can be argued that the growth of regional international bodies such as the European Union (formerly the European Community) means that states no longer enjoy absolute sovereignty.

Definition
Although most states are members of the United Nations, this is not a completely reliable criterion: some are not members by choice, like Switzerland; some have been deliberately excluded, like Taiwan; and some are members but do not enjoy complete national sovereignty. The classic definition of a state is given by R M MacIver (The Modern State 1926):‘An association which, acting through law as promulgated by a government endowed to this end with coercive power, maintains within a community territorially demarcated the universal external conditions of social order.’ There are four essential elements in this definition: that people have formed an association to create and preserve social order; that the community comprising the state is clearly defined in territorial terms; that the government representing the people acts according to promulgated laws; and that it has power to enforce these laws.

Sovereignty
Today, the state is seen as the nation state so that any community that has absolute sovereignty over a specific area is a state. Thus the so‐called states of the USA, which are to some degree subject to the will of the federal government, are not states in international terms, nor are colonial or similar possessions, which, too, are subject to an overriding authority. In 1995 there were 192 sovereign nation states in the world, 40 of which were less than 20 years old.


From the Hutchinson Encyclopedia of World History. © Research Machines plc [2006] All Rights Reserved, Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines.
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11 July 1863

President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which legally frees all of the African American slaves in Confederate states. Though the Proclamation affects few slaves immediately, it encourages others to escape. For more, see our in-depth article on the American Civil War.

2 January 1788

Named after King George II, Georgia becomes the fourth state of the U.S.A

3 January 1993
Russia and the United States sign the second START agreement in Moscow. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is a further indication that the Cold War is over.
4 January 1885
The first successful appendix operation is performed by Dr William West Grant in Iowa in the United States of America.
6 January 1974

As a result of the energy crisis, daylight saving time is introduced early in the United States.

7 January 1953
President Harry Truman announces that the United States of America has developed a Hydrogen Bomb.
8 January 1877

Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry at Montana.

10 January 1922

Arthur Griffith, the founder of Sinn Fein and one of the architects of the 1921 peace treaty with Britain, is elected president of the newly established Irish Free State.

11 January 1989
After eight years as President of the United States, Ronald Reagan gives his farewell address to the American people. In particular, Reagan emphasises the foreign policy achievements of his administration.
12 January 1991
The United States Congress votes to authorise the use of military force against Iraq to end its occupation of Kuwait.
13 January 1968

Johnny Cash records the album ‘At Folsom Prison’ live at Folsom State Prison, USA.

14 January 1942

World War II: The Unites States and Great Britain agree to form a combined Chiefs of Staff.

15 January 1970

The Republic of Biafra, a breakaway state of eastern Nigeria, surrenders to the Nigerian government after three years of resistance.

16 January 2006
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is inaugurated as Liberia's new president. She is the first elected female Head of State in Africa.
17 January 1977
Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah State Prison, Salt Lake City. It is the first execution in the U.S. for almost ten years.
19 January 1840

Whilst on an exploring expedition, Captain Charles Wilkes sights the coast of eastern Antarctica and claims it for the United States

20 January 1961

In America, John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. Kennedy is to be both the youngest ever President and the first Roman Catholic to hold the office.

21 January 1950

Former American State Department official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.

23 January 1997

In America, Madeline Albright becomes the first female Secretary of State.

26 January 2005

Condoleezza Rice is confirmed as the US Secretary of State. She is the highest ranking African-American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.

29 January 2002

In his State of the Union Address, American President George W Bush argues that there is an 'Axis of Evil', comprised of countries which are destabilising the world.

30 January 1965

In London, the State funeral of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill takes place.

1 February 2005
In Nepal, King Gyanendra stages a coup after sacking the government and declaring a state of emergency.
3 February 1988
Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
4 February 2003
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is renamed Serbia and Montenegro to form a confederation of states.
5 February 2003
US secretary of state Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council, putting forward America’s case that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
6 February 1778
The American War for Independence: The United States and France sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.
8 February 1918
The United States Army resumes publication of the military newsletter 'Stars and Stripes', first published during the American civil war.
9 February 1950
United States Senator Joe McCarthy launches his anti-communist crusade, claiming that more than two hundred state department officials are members of the communist party.
11 February 1929
The Italian state and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
12 February 1999

President Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.

17 February 1854

Britain recognises the independence of the Orange Free State, in southern Africa.

20 February 1983

In the Indian state of Assam, hundreds of people are killed as violence spreads in the run up to the general election.

23 February 1903

Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States ‘in perpetuity’.

24 February 2006

Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo places the country in a state of emergency after an alleged military coup fails.

1 March 1954
The United States of America carries out its first H-bomb test at Bikini Atoll.
3 March 1845
Florida becomes the 27th state of America.
5 March 2004
American TV personality and entrepreneur Martha Stewart is found guilty on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and two of making false statements regarding alleged insider trading.
7 March 1965
Acting upon the orders of Governor George Wallace, state troopers and volunteer officers disperse a civil rights demonstration in Alabama. At least 50 protesters are injured in the course of the police action.
10 March 1940
U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles meets with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to discuss a peacemaking proposal to prevent a widening of the European war.
11 March 1861
During the American Civil War, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas adopt the permanent constitution of the Confederate States of America.
13 March 1900
The Boer War: British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
14 March 1900
United States currency is placed on the gold standard as the Gold Standard Act is ratified.
16 March 1953
Yugoslavian leader, Marshal Josef Tito becomes the first communist head of state to visit Britain.
19 March 1931
The American state of Nevada legalises gambling.
20 March 1848
As revolution spreads through Europe and the German states, Kind Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
21 March 1965
In America, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators, led by Martin Luther King Jr, begin a historic march from Selma, Alabama, to the State Capital Montgomery. 
22 March 1974
The Equal Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Senate, but in the following years fails to receive ratification by all states.
31 March 1917
The United States buys the Danish West Indies from Denmark for $25 million, renaming it the U.S. Virgin Islands.
2 April 1972
Having been labelled a communist in the red scare during the 1950's, Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since 1952.
4 April 1976
Nordon Sihanouk is confined to his house and forced to step down as Head of State in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.
5 April 1242
The Teutonic Knights are defeated by the Novgorod Feudal Republic (a Russian state) at the Battle of Ice.
6 April 1917
The United States of America declares war on Germany and enters the First World War.
9 April 1959
NASA introduces to the press the United States' first seven astronauts who will take part in America’s first manned space programme.
10 April 1941
The Second World War: The Axis powers form the puppet state of Croatia. 
15 April 1959
Fidel Castro visits the United States but President Eisenhower refuses to meet him.
16 April 1945
The Second World War: The United States Congress extends the Lend-Lease programme.
17 April 1790
American statesman Benjamin Franklin dies.
18 April 1983
The United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon is destroyed by a suicide bomber. 63 people are killed by the attack.
21 April 2005
John Negroponte is sworn as the first United States Director of National Intelligence.
22 April 1970
Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world's environmental problems, is celebrated in the United States for the first time.
29 April 1970
United States and South Vietnamese troops launch a limited invasion of Cambodia.
30 April 1948
The United States and 20 Latin American countries form the Organization of American States, an anti-communist alliance.
1 May 1931
In New York City, America the Empire State building is officially opened.
4 May 1970
The Vietnam War: at Kent State University in Ohio, America 4 students are killed by the National Guard as they try to quell a anti-Vietnam War protest.
5 May 1789
In France, the Estates-General meet’s for the first time in 150 years.
6 May 1877
Native American Chief, Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux, surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
11 May 1858
Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd American state.
13 May 1846
The United States of America declares war on Mexico.
14 May 1904
The Modern Olympic Games are held in the United States of America for the first time - at St Louis, Missouri.
15 May 1948
The day after the State of Israel formally comes into existence Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia all declare war on the new country.
17 May 2004
Massachusetts becomes the first American state to legally hold a same-sex marriage.
18 May 1980
Mount St Helens' volcano in the American state of Washington erupts killing at least 100 people and creating a cloud of ash 2,500 miles long and 1,000 miles wide.
21 May 1991
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated when a bomb, planted in a bouquet of flowers, explodes during election campaigning in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
24 May 1621
The Protestant Union, a coalition of German States, formally disbands.
25 May 1787
In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States.
26 May 1998
Ex soldiers and former Japanese POWs turn their backs on Japanese Emperor Akihito for failing to give a full apology with regard to their treatment in the Second World War, during the Emperor’s state visit to Britain.
29 May 1848
Wisconsin becomes the 30th state to join the Union.
30 May 1967
The breakaway state of Biafra proclaims its independence from Nigeria.
1 June 1796
Tennessee becomes the 16th state of the United States of America.
2 June 1924
President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizen Act, granting automatic American citizenship to Native Americans born in the United States.
4 June 1919
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, which it receives 8 days later.
5 June 1916
The First World War: Britain’s Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, drowns when HMS Hampshire hits a mine off the Orkney Islands during a storm.
7 June 1948
Eduard Benes resigns as president of Czechoslovakia, refusing to sign a new constitution that would turn the country into a communist state.
9 June 1915
The First World War: U.S. Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, resigns due to his concerns over President Woodrow Wilson’s handling of the crisis generated by a German submarine’s sinking of the British cruiser Lusitania the previous month.
10 June 1980
In South Africa, the African National Congress releases a statement from its imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela calling upon anti-apartheid supporters to fight for the cause.
11 June 2004
The state funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan takes place in Washington.
14 June 1775
The Continental Congress establishes The United States Army.
15 June 1971
In Britain, the Conservative Secretary of State for Education, Margaret Thatcher, pushes ahead with the Government’s controversial policy to end free school milk for children over the age of seven, as the Bill narrowly passes its second reading in Parliament.
17 June 1994
Start of football's World Cup Finals in the United States of America with an opening ceremony which included President Bill Clinton, television celebrity Oprah Winfrey and singer Diana Ross.
19 June 2005
Only six cars compete in the Formula One United States Grand Prix as the cars using Michelin tyres pull out due to safety concerns.
20 June 1863
In America, West Virginia is admitted to the Union as the 35th state.
21 June 1788
New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.
23 June 196
The first day of the Glassboro Summit Conference between United States President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Union Premier Aleksei Kosygin in America.
24 June 1974
The British Government admits to having recently conducted a nuclear test explosion in the United States.
26 June 1948
In response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city.
28 June 2004
The Iraq War: The United States formally hands back sovereignty of Iraq to the Iraqi Government.
29 June 1972
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that capital punishment, as it is currently employed on the state and federal level, is unconstitutional.
30 June 1969
The Nigerian government prevents international aid from getting to the breakaway state Biafra.
2 July 1881
James Garfield, 20th President of the United States, is shot in Washington and dies in September.
3 July 1890
In America, Idaho is admitted to the Union as the 43rd state.
4 July 1826
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively, die on this day, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
6 July 1535
Sir Thomas More, English statesman and Lord Chancellor, is executed on Tower Hill in London for treason - refusing to accept, officially and publicly, Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.
7 July 1976
For the first time in history, women are enrolled into the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
10 July 1972
In Britain, The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw announces to the House of Commons that he has held secret talks with the IRA.
13 July 1919
British airship R34 lands back in Norfolk, England after making the first round trip across the Atlantic to the United States and back again.
16 July 1970
In Britain, Prime Minister Edward Heath declares a state of emergency following the start of a national dock strike - the first state of emergency issued in Britain since 1926.
21 July 365 AD
A powerful earthquake off the coast of Greece causes a tsunami that devastates the city of Alexandria, Egypt.
23 July 1984
In Britain a Government report confirms that there are higher-than-normal levels of leukaemia in the area surrounding the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria. However, the report states that there is not enough evidence to link the plant to this phenomenon.
24 July 1974
The United States Supreme Court orders President Nixon to hand over tape recordings of White House conversations about the Watergate affair.
25 July 1946
The United States detonates an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
26 July 1941
The Second World War: President Franklin Roosevelt seizes all Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China.
28 July 1945
In heavy fog a United States military plane crashes into the Empire State Building in New York killing 14 people.
29 July 1958
The United States Congress passes legislation formally inaugurating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
30 July 1986
In England, the parents of a missing London estate agent, Suzy Lamplugh, make an emotional appeal for her safe return.
1 August 1975
The United States, the Soviet Union, Canada and every European nation (except Albania) sign the Helsinki Final Act at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
3 August 1957
Tunku Abdul Rahman is elected head of state of Malaya.
5 August 1963
113 countries including Britain, the United States and the USSR sign a nuclear test ban treaty, agreeing that any further tests should be carried out underground.
6 August 1787
In Philadelphia, delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin debating the first complete draft of the proposed Constitution of the United States.
7 August 2003
West African peacekeepers start to patrol the wart torn Liberian capital Monrovia following a statement issued by the country's President, Charles Taylor, announcing his resignation.
8 August 1945
President Harry S. Truman signs the United Nations Charter and the United States becomes the first nation to complete the ratification process and join the new international organisation.
9 August 1842
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed between America and Britain, agrees the frontier between the United States and Canada.
10 August 1821
Missouri enters the Union as the 24th state of America.
11 August 1987
Alan Greenspan becomes Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, a position he holds until January 2006.
12 August 1898
Spanish-American War comes to an end when Spain formally agrees to a peace protocol on U.S. terms: the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Manila in the Philippines to the United States pending a final peace treaty.
14 August 2003
Massive power cuts hit the eastern United States and Canada causing chaos.
15 August 1969
In America, the Woodstock Pop Festival begins on a dairy farm in New York State.
16 August 2004
In Britain, Boscastle in north Cornwall is completely devastated as flash floods sweep through the coastal village.
19 August 1991
Soviet hardliners attempt to topple President Mikhail Gorbachev in a coup, putting tanks on the streets of Moscow, banning demonstrations and imposing a state of emergency. The coup is declared a failure less than 48 hours later.
21 August 1959
Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the USA.
22 August 1973
Henry Kissinger is named U.S. Secretary of State replacing William Rogers.
23 August 1979
Alexander Godunov, a member of the Bolshoi Ballet, is given political asylum in the United States.
24 August 1954
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower signs the Communist Control Act making it illegal to be a member of the Communist Party of the United States.
26 August 1920
United States of America ratifies the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote.
29 August 2005
Hurricane Katrina pounds New Orleans and quickly becomes the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.
31 August 1935
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act, which expresses the desire of the United States to avoid a conflict which will lead to war.
1 September 1951
A mutual defence pact – the ANZUS Treaty - is signed by the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
2 September 1901
The then Vice President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, makes his famous remark regarding American foreign policy saying America should, ‘speak softly and carry a big stick.’
3 September 1783
Britain recognises the United States of America by signing the Treaty of Paris which officially ends the American War of Independence.
4 September 1918
United States troops land at Archangel, in northern Russia in support of the provisional government in its civil war against the Bolsheviks.
5 September 2006
Pakistan signs an agreement with pro-Taliban militants in the state of Waziristan on the Pakistan – Afghan border which ends hostiles between the militants and the Pakistani government. 
6 September 1997
The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place at Westminster Abbey in London. She is then laid to rest at her family’s estate in Althorp.
9 September 1942
The Second World War: Incendiary bombs are dropped on Oregon in one of the few bombing raids made by Japan on the United States of America.
10 September 1846
Elias Howe receives the first United States patent for a sewing machine.
11 September 1973
A military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet and backed by the United States of America, overthrows the elected Marxist Government of Salvador Allende in Chile.
12 September 1990
Representatives from the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union sign an agreement giving up all occupation rights in Germany.
15 September 1959
Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States.
16 September 1940

Sam Rayburn is elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

17 September 1947

James Forrestal is sworn in as the first Secretary of Defence of United States of America.

18 September 1987
The United States and the USSR announce their intention to sign a treaty to reduce their arsenal of nuclear weapons.
19 September 1985
In Mexico, more than 30,000 people are killed and many more made homeless when an earthquake devastates large areas of Mexico City.
23 September 2004
Haiti is struck by hurricane Jeanne. The island is left devastated with around 3000 people killed.
24 September 1998

As a precondition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with Britain, the Iranian government states that it will no longer seek to harm author Salman Rushdie.

25 September 1789
The first Congress of the United States approves 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of rights, and sends them to the states for ratification.
26 September 1983
Racing yacht Australia II beats the American boat Liberty in the deciding race off Newport, Rhode Island to deprive the United States of the America’s Cup, a trophy the Americans had never lost in the 132 year history of the event.
30 September 1993
An earthquake in the Indian state of Maharashtra kills around 22,000 people.
1 October 1936
In Spain, military leader General Francisco Franco assumes the office of Head of State.
8 October 1919
The first transcontinental air race in the United States begins, with 63 planes competing in the round-trip aerial derby between California and New York.
10 October 1845
The United States Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland.
11 October 1899
The start of the Second Boer War between the British Empire and the Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal in southern Africa.
14 October 1983
In Britain, Cecil Parkinson, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, resigns following further revelations about his affair with his former secretary Sara Keays.
17 October 1980

Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first ever British monarch to make a state visit to the Vatican.

20 October 1818
The 49th Parallel is established by USA and Britain as the official boundary between Canada and the United States of America with the signing of The Convention of 1818. 
21 October 1952
In Kenya, nationalist leader Jomo Kenyatta is arrested as a state of emergency is declared in the British colony. 
23 October 1855
The Kansas Free State forces in America set up a governor and legislature under their Topeka Constitution, a document that outlaws slavery in the territory, in opposition to the fraudulently elected pro-slavery legislature of Kansas.
27 October 1795
Treaty of Madrid is signed between the United States and Spain which defines the borders of the U.S. and its Spanish colonies.
29 October 1999
An estimated 10,000 people are killed and 1.5 million made homeless as a cyclone rips through eastern Indian state of Orissa.
31 October 1864
In America, Nevada becomes the 36th state to join the Union.
3 November 2004
George W. Bush wins a second term as President of the United States defeating Senator John Kerry in the presidential election.
4 November 1980
Former Hollywood movie star Ronald Reagan is elected the 40th President of the United States of America.
5 November 1940
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is re-elected for an unprecedented third term as President of the United States.
6 November 1789
Pope Pius VI appoints John Carroll bishop of Baltimore, making him the first Catholic bishop in the United States.
7 November 1989
Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder, becomes the first elected African American state governor in American history, winning the Governorship in Virginia.
8 November 1889
Montana becomes the 41st U.S. state.
9 November 1985
“Royal fever” hits the United States as Prince Charles and Princess Diana begin a four day visit to America.
11 November 1889
Washington becomes the 42nd state of the United States.
13 November 1960
In America, Sammy Davis, Jr. marries Swedish actress May Britt, in a time when interracial marriage was still illegal in 31 U.S. states.
16 November 2004
American President George W. Bush announces that he is to nominate national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to become the new Secretary of State. Upon confirmation, Rice becomes the first African-American women to hold this position.
17 November 1950
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, becomes Tibet’s head of state.
18 November 2003
President George W. Bush begins a controversial state visit to Britain, to first since the beginning of the Iraq War.
19 November 1977
The President of Egypt Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to visit the State of Israel.
20 November 1789
New Jersey becomes the first American state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
21 November 1789
North Carolina ratifies the U.S. Constitution becoming the 12th state in the Union.
23 November 2005
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is formally declared president of Liberia becoming Africa's first elected female head of state.
24 November 1998
At the State opening of the British parliament the Queen’s Speech announces the Labour government’s intention to end the right of hereditary Peers to sit in the House of Lords.
25 November 1950
The so-called “storm of the century” hits the eastern side of the United States, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars worth of damages.
27 November 1973
The United States Senate votes to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States following the resignation of Spiro Agnew.
29 November 1967
The American Secretary of State for Defence, Robert S. McNamara, announces that he will resign to assume the presidency of the World Bank.
30 November 1981
Representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union open talks to reduce their intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Europe. However, they fail to reach an agreement.
1 December 1824
In America, no presidential candidate receives a majority of the total electoral votes in the presidential election. Congress, as stated by the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, turns over the presidential election to the House of Representatives to decide.
7 December 1787
Delaware becomes the first state of the modern United States.
8 December 1991
The beginning of the end of the Soviet Union; three of the major republics - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus unite to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
9 December 1905
In France, a law is passé which legally separated the church from the state.
10 December 1898
Signing of Treaty of Paris between United States of America and Spain ends the Spanish-American War. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines are ceded to the U.S. for $20 million.
11 December 1941
The Second World War: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States of America.
13 December 2003
The Iraq War: The United States capture Saddam Hussein. 
14 December 1819
In America, Alabama officially becomes the 22nd state to join the United States.
15 December 1978
President Jimmy Carter states that as of 1st January 1979, the United States will formally recognise the People's Republic of China and sever relations with Taiwan.
17 December 1777
France formally recognises the United States of American as an independent nation. 
18 December 1865
Slavery is officially abolished in the United States of America with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution by the requisite three-quarters of the states.
19 December 1974
Nelson Rockefeller is sworn as Vice-President on the United States of America.
20 December 1803
The French hand over New Orleans and Lower Louisiana to the United States.
21 December 1991
11 of the 12 Soviet republics declare that they are forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
24 December 1962
The last prisoners taken at the disastrous U.S. sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba are returned to the United States.
25 December 1974
In Australia, the city of Darwin is devastated by a cyclone.
28 December 1846
Iowa joins the American Union, becoming the 29th state.
29 December 1845
Texas officially becomes a state of the American Union.
30 December 1853
The U.S.A. and Mexico sign the Gadsden Purchase. The treaty settled the dispute over the location of the Mexican border west of El Paso, Texas and established the final boundaries of the southern United States.
31 December 1999
The United States, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, officially hands over control of the Panama Canal over to Panama.
3 December 1828
Andrew Jackson beats incumbent John Quincy Adams to be elected President of the United States.
3 January 1959

Alaska becomes the 49th, and largest, American State.

2 December 1954
The United States and Formosa (Taiwan) sign a treaty of mutual assistance. 
 

1776: United States declares independence
After a decade of economic conflict with Great Britain, the 13 colonies answer King George III's... More >
 
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Ancient Chinese Sports

Ancient Chinese Sports

Catapulting viewers into a sporting world that few knew existed, a world that thrived centuries... More >

Sat 4 Jul 9.00pm
The Plague (Part 2 of 2)

The Plague (Part 2 of 2)

In 1437, the worst biological disaster in history swept... More >

Sat 4 Jul 10.00pm