August 13, 1960 The Central African Republic gains independence from France and David Dacko is named the first president.

August 14, 1945 Japan surrenders. Shaken by the atomic destruction wreaked on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and faced with the daunting prospect of Allied invasion, Japanese Emperor Hirohito meets with his ministers on the morning of August 14 and announces, “We cannot continue the war any longer.” World War II was over.

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