331 BC: Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela

1688: Prince William of Orange accepts invitation to take up the British crown

1814: Opening of the Congress of Vienna redraws Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte

1867: Karl Marx publishes “Das Kapital” in Berlin, describing the capitalist system, its instability, and its tendency toward self-destruction

1908: Henry Ford introduces the Model T car, priced at $825

1918: World War I: A combined Arab and British force under T. E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, captures Damascus from the Turks

1988: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of state of the Soviet Union

Source: Onthisday.com