In 1998 an earthquake hit Afghanistan killing 4,000 and leaving another 15,000 homeless. Aid poured in from around the world including from the Taliban (they were at war with the Northern Alliance, who controlled the area hit at the time).

 

In 1974 a coach carrying soldiers and their families back to an army barracks exploded killing 12 people including 2 children. The coach, carrying 50 passengers, was travelling down the M62 on its way to a barracks in North Yorkshire, England when the device exploded. Eleven people were killed from the blast and another twelve were seriously injured, one of the twelve died four days later from his injuries. The IRA were the prime suspect and in November of that year a Judith Ward was convicted of the bombing but later released due to evidence being withheld at the trial.

 

In 1948 Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was known then, became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

In 1861 the confederacy is established when representatives from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina meet Alabama. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860 under a republican government, which was anti slavery, South Carolina seceded from the union, taking control of military ordinance in their state. Other southern states also began stock piling military arsenals.

 

In 1792 George Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States for a second term, with John Adams as his Vice President.

 

In 1789 the first American president was elected. George Washington was elected by the 69 presidential electors who voted unanimously in his favour. John Adams was elected as his Vice president.