12 juli 1979: onafhankelijkheid Gilbert Islands (GBR)

KIR-296

1979 The Gilbert Islands gained independence from Britain and became a nation, the Archipelago of Kiribati. It is a chain of 35 islands that sprawls 1,860 miles from east to west. Fanning Island was renamed to Tabuaeran.

(WSJ, 1/22/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(SSFC, 4/21/02, p.C22)