On this day: Madonna performs at the 2007 Live Earth concert

7 July

1456: A retrial verdict acquitted Joan of Arc of heresy, 25 years after her death.

1520: Despite being hugely outnumbered, Hernan Cortes and the Tlaxcalans defeated the Aztecs at the Battle of Otumba in Mexico.

1548: The Treaty of Haddington, between Scotland and France, confirmed the betrothal of Mary, Queen of Scots and Dauphin of France.

1559: John Knox became the first Protestant minister appointed in Edinburgh.

1575: The Raid of the Redeswire, skirmish between Scottish and English borderers.

1814: Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley was published.

1913: House of Commons passed Irish Home Rule Bill.

1925: Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall was destroyed by fire.

1928: Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri, described as “the best thing since bread was wrapped”.

1929: The Vatican became a sovereign state.

1947: Reported sightings of a flying saucer over Roswell, New Mexico sparked the biggest extra-terrestrial investigation in history.

1950: Farnborough staged its first air show.

1976: Viking 2 went into orbit around Mars.

1978: The Solomon Islands gained full independence within the Commonwealth, having been a British protectorate since 1899.

1978: Martina Navratilova won the women’s singles tennis title at Wimbledon for the first time.

1981: Solar Challenger, piloted by Steve Ptacek, became the first solar-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel.

1982: Britain’s David Moorcroft set a new world record of 13:00.41 for the 5,000 metres.

1987: Lt Col Oliver North began his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing.

1989: Thousands of people defied martial law in Burma and held a rally in memory of citizens killed during military crackdowns.

1990: Martina Navratilova, 33, won a record ninth Wimbledon women’s singles title, beating Zina Garrison.

1994: Unions said they would fight the government decision to close Rosyth naval base with the loss of 1,800 jobs.

2005: Fifty-six people died and more than 700 were injured when four British suicide bombers attacked three London Tube trains and a bus in the rush hour.

2007: Live Earth, a series of charity concerts ro promote environmental awareness, took place in various cities around the world.

2008: The General Synod of the Church of England voted in favour of the consecration of women bishops.

2011: Britain’s biggest selling newspaper, the News of the World, announced it would close due to the ongoing damaging allegations against it relating to the phone-hacking scandal.

2013: Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to win the mens singles final at Wimbedon and become the first British male champion for 77 years.