Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1783

The Treaty of Paris between the United States and Great Britain officially ended the Revolutionary War.

1939

World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allied nations. The Viceroy of India also declares war, but without consulting the provincial legislatures.

1943

World War II: British and Canadian troops land on the Italian mainland. On the same day, Walter Bedell Smith and Giuseppe Castellano sign the Armistice of Cassibile, although it is not announced for another five days.

1967

Nguyen Van Thieu was elected president of South Vietnam under a new constitution.

1967

The original version of the TV game show ''What's My Line?,'' hosted by John Charles Daly, broadcast its final episode after more than 17 years on CBS.

1976

The unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface.

1978

Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

1994

China and Russia proclaimed an end to any lingering hostilities, pledging they would no longer target nuclear missiles or use force against each other.

1997

Arizona Gov. Fife Symington was convicted of bank fraud and announced his resignation. A federal appeals court overturned the conviction in 1999.

1658

Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, died.

1970

Football coach Vince Lombardi died in Washington, D.C. (b. 1913)

1991

Movie director Frank Capra died in La Quinta, Calif., at age 94. (b. 1897)