1279: A Mongolian victory at the naval Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China

1644: 200 members of Peking imperial family and court commit suicide in loyalty to the Emperor

1863: Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, and medicines then valued over $1,000,000. Wreck discovered exactly 102 years later by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence.

1920: US Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time, refusing to ratify the League of Nations’ covenant and maintains a policy of isolation

1932: The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened in Sydney, Australia

2003: Airstrikes by an American and British-led coalition signal the beginning of the Invasion of Iraq, without United Nations support and in defiance of world opinion

Source: Onthisday.com