Reuters
1900 - Commonwealth of Australia founded.
1932 - King Camp Gillette, U.S. inventor and manufacturer of the safety razor, died.
1993 - British scientists using genetic fingerprinting identified the bones of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and members of his family, executed by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg in 1918.
1997 - The American heavyweight Mike Tyson was banned from boxing for a year and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield's ear during a world title fight.
2002 - The African Union was launched by at least 40 of the continent's 53 presidents and monarchs.
2005 - Danny Way becomes first person to jump over the Great Wall of China on a skateboard.
2005 - Former rebel chief John Garang took his place in the Sudanese leadership, swearing the oath of office as first vice president. He was killed in a helicopter crash six months later.
2006 - A Russian airliner crashed on landing and burst into flames in Siberia, killing up to 128 people.
2006 - Italy defeats France to win soccer World Cup in Berlin.
2011 - South Sudan formally declares independence from north.
2015 - U.S. Army announces 40,000 troop reduction.
