On this day in 1971, Kachin leader Sima Duwa Sinwa Naung died aged 57. When the military seized power in the 1962 coup, he was days away from being sworn in as president.

On this day in 1947, the prime ministers of Myanmar and Britain signed the treaty by which Myanmar would gain its independence.

On this day in 1941, Prime Minister U Saw arrived in London seeking independence; after being rebuffed and contacting Japan, he spent the war detained by the British.