This week in history - August 31 – September 6

An 18 foot replica of the Titanic, as she looked when she set out on her maiden voyage, on show at The World Trade Center Boston. (Pool/Getty Images)

September 5th 1839
Start of the First Opium War, also known as First Anglo-Chinese War. It was fought between the British East Indian Company and the Qing Dynasty of China. The British wanted China to open up free trade, particularly with opium.  It ended with the Treaty of Nanjing being signed in 1842 with the British as victors. This war is often regarded as the opening up of China to the outside world.

September 3rd 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany, in response to the German invasion of Poland on Sept 1st. thus beginning WWII. Many other countries were at war before this date, such as Japan and Nationalist China in the Second Sino-Japanese War.  During the following years, many other nations stepped in.  The war lasted until 1945 with surrender of Germany and Japan giving victory to the Allies. Total deaths of over 70 million people, mostly civilian, made this the deadliest conflict in human history.

September 1st 1985
The wreck of the Titanic located. The largest passenger ship at that time struck an iceberg on April 14th 1912, killing 1517 people. A joint American-French expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel and Dr Robert Ballard located the sunken vessel at a depth of 4km, 600km south-east of Newfoundland.

August 31st 1997
Princess Diana, first wife of Prince Charles, killed in a car accident in Paris. Her sudden death led to tributes pouring in from all over the world. Also killed were Dodi Fayed, her companion and Henri Paul, the driver. Much speculation about the accident, with conspiracy theories followed for many years. On April 7th 2008 a jury decided her death was caused by gross negligence.