1992 The US flag was lowered at Subic Bay for the last time as the US formally handed over the giant naval base to the Philippines. The lights go out in Olongapo fun city outside Subic, as the American Marines pack up to go home. The handover signalled the effective end of nearly a century of US military presence in the former colony. Some 150 diplomats and military officials from the two countries presided over the handover. They have been forced out by the Philippine Senate’s refusal to ratify a new treaty that would have given Washington the base facilities for 10 more years. The Philippines plans to turn Subic into an industrial zone and is inviting businessmen from Japan and Taiwan to invest. David Krieger Commanding officer of Subic said: “I feel a combination of sadness and expectation. We are ending a tremendous relationship on a day-to-day basis. I am proud that we are turning over a good military facility”.
Other important events
1787 Sailing ship Columbia leaves Boston on first voyage around world by an American vessel.
1846 Dentist William Morton uses ether as an anaesthetic on a patient for the first time.
1868 Spain’s Queen Isabella II flees to France.
1882 World’s first hydroelectric power plant opens on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.
1889 Wyoming becomes the first US state to grant women the right to vote.
1947 Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations.
1954 The first atomic-powered vessel, the submarine Nautilus, is commissioned by the US Navy.
1958 Soviet Union resumes nuclear testing.
1962 Black American student James Meredith succeeds on his fourth try to register for classes at the University of Mississippi.
1965 Six of Indonesia’s top army generals are kidnapped and killed in an abortive coup.
1966 Republic of Botswana gains independence from Britain.
1971 US and Soviet Union sign pacts designed to avoid accidental nuclear war.
1975 Boxer Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier to retain his world heavyweight title.
1984 Test production commences on Dubai’s Margham onshore field.
1985 Simone Signoret, one of France’s best known actresses, dies after suffering from cancer.
1986 US releases Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov after the Soviets release US journalist Nicholas Daniloff.
1990 Soviet Union and South Korea open full diplomatic relations.
1991 Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is ousted by the army.
1993 An earthquake rocks western India, leaving more than 10,000 dead.
1999 The first Arabian Wildlife Centre in the region is opened in Sharjah.
2001 Indian politician Madhavrao Scindia is killed along with four journalists in the plane crash.
2007 Rebel forces storm African Union base in Darfur, killing dozens of peacekeepers.
2008 168 people are killed and scores injured in a massive stampede at a Hindu temple in Jodphur, India.
2009 Massive earthquake strikes the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, killing thousands.
2011 Anwar Al Awlaqi, a key Al Qaida leader is killed in US airstrike in Al Jawf, Yemen.
2013 Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is convicted in fodder scandal by special CBI court.
2014 Microsoft’s unveils new operating system called Windows 10.
2015 World Health Organisation declares Sharjah as the first healthy city in the Middle East.
