Today in History: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on May 8:

1660 - English Parliament proclaims Charles II, King of England and invites him to return.

1895 - China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki

1902 – Mount Pelee on Martinique erupted and destroyed the town of St Pierre; more than 30,000 people were killed and leaving only two survivors.

1903 – The French post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin died in Tahiti.

1945 - V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender.

1978 – Italian climber Reinhold Messner and Austrian Peter Habeler became the first men to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen.

1980 - World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated.

1989 – Janos Kadar, Hungary’s communist leader for more than three decades, was dropped from his ceremonial post of Communist Party president.

1999 – The British film actor Dirk Bogarde died aged 78. He is best remembered for his roles in “Death in Venice”, “The Victim” and “The Servant”.

2002 – A suicide bomber killed himself, 11 French navy experts and two Pakistanis outside the Sheraton hotel in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

2003 – King Mohammed of Morocco celebrated the birth of a son and heir by ordering the release of more than 9,000 prisoners, one of the biggest pardons in the country’s history.

2005 – Lloyd Cutler, who served as White House counsel to U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, died aged 87.

2007 – Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders, arch-foes during decades of bloodshed, launched a power-sharing government in the British-ruled province.

2009 – Romanian chefs mix 30,000 eggs to make the world’s largest peasant omelette.

2014 – Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad supervise evacuation of rebels from Homs who held the city for nearly two years.

(Reuters)