Edward III of England proclaims himself King of France in Ghent, on January 26, 1340, escalating the Hundred Years' War. Edward III had previously claimed the throne in 1337 after the confiscation of his French lands, however his 1340 public declaration initiated the formal phase of the Hundred Years' War.
The 100 year War was eventually won by the French at the Battle of Castillon in 1453. More