Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.

The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.

A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.

A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.

In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević.

Collapse of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea.

Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Raid on offshore pirate station, Radio Caroline in North Sea by British and Dutch governments.

Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist Prime Minister in 42 years.

Hungerford Massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle and then commits suicide.

Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.

Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.

Japanese prime minister Eisaku Sato becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa.

Cold War: in Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.

In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.

Cold War: the CIA helps to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Vietnam War: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.

World War II: Liberation of Paris

World War II: Operation Jubilee

First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.

Metropolitan Sergius proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union.

Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.

American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.

Indian Wars: during an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.

First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.

California Gold Rush: the ''New York Herald'' breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).

Presentation of Jacque Daguerre's new photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.

Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's second triumvirate.

War of 1812: American frigate ''USS Constitution'' defeats the British frigate ''HMS Guerriere'' off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning her nickname "Old Ironsides".

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks

Gustavus III of Sweden stages a Coup d'état, in which he assumes power and enacts a new constitution that divides power between the Riksdag and the King.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan – the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".

Salem witch trials: in Salem, Massachusetts, Province of Massachusetts Bay five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.

Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".

The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused for practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in English history.

An 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.

Battle of Knockdoe.