On this Date in 1997...

...Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul were killed in a high speed car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris.  Non-coincidentally, on the same day your truly arrived in California to live for the foreseeable future, ranging from Orange County, to San Diego, then eventually the Central Valley.

On this Date in 1963...

...the Hotline between the leaders of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union goes into operation.  There was a brief misunderstanding when President Kennedy accidentally picked up this line instead of the Bat-Phone.  The Soviet Premier was overheard shortly afterward wondering, "What is Batman?"

On this Date in 1825...

...Portugal recognizes the Independence of Brazil.  The official declaration included the statement: "Hey look, Brazil is independent."

On this Date in 1901...

...Silliman University is founded in the Philippines. The first American private school in the country.  Some believed it to be a clown college, but were quickly corrected and were told that it was, in fact, a jester's college.  Big difference.

On this Date in 1928...

...The Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by the first 15 nations to do so. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.  In honor of this momentous occasion they all enjoyed a celebratory bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes.

On this Date in 1914...

...World War I: the German colony of Togoland is invaded by French and British forces, who take it after 5 days.  It was a rather easy operation as the Germans had decided to start wearing bedsheets instead of their normal uniforms, in honor of the area they were occupying.

On this Date in 1920...

...Polish forces under Józef Piłsudski (pictured) successfully forced the Russians to withdraw from Warsaw at the Battle of Warsaw, the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War.  Which, at least briefly, ended the reputation of Poland being the whipping boy of Europe.