

AD64: The Great Fire of Rome occurred during the reign of Emperor Nero.
1290: By the Treaty of Birgham, King Edward I guaranteed the survival of Scotland “separate, apart and free without subjection to the English nation”.
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Hide Ad1572: William of Orange was recognised as Viceroy of Holland, Friesland and Utrecht.
1593: King James VI of Scotland was taken prisoner by the Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood.
1872: Britain introduced voting by secret ballot.
1919: The Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall was unveiled. The First World War memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and would later do double duty for the Second World War.
1923: Matrimonial Causes Act gave women equality in divorce suits.
1925: Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which Adolf Hitler wrote while in jail, was published.
1931: SS Mariposa, the first air-conditioned luxury cruise ship, built in Quincy, Massachusetts, was launched.
1940: The first successful helicopter flight took place in Stratford, Connecticut.
1947: The first official night horse-racing meeting in Britain was held at Hamilton Park.
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Hide Ad1953: Elvis Presley made his first recording in Sun studios, Memphis.
1955: The first electric power generated from atomic energy was sold commercially.
1966: Gemini X, America’s 16th manned space flight, splashed down with astronauts John Young and Michael Collins aboard.
1976: Nadia Comaneci of Romania became the first competitor in Olympic history to score a perfect ten in gymnastics.
1977: Vietnam became a member of the United Nations.
1984: Gunman James Huberty walked into a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, California and opened fire, killing 21 people and wounding 19 others. He was shot dead by police.
1988: Iran announced acceptance of United Nations resolution for ceasefire in Gulf war with Iraq.
1989: Tim Waterstone made about £8 million when he sold his chain of bookstores to WH Smith, the firm that had sacked him seven years previously.
1995: A report by the Board of Banking Supervisors into the Barings Bank crash with £827m losses, heaped blame on jailed trader Nick Leeson and the failure of Barings’ internal controls.
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Hide Ad1998: A 23-foot tidal wave killed nearly 3,000 people in Papua New Guinea.
1999: Scottish golfer Paul Lawrie won the Open Championship at Carnoustie.
2012: Six Israelis were killed and 30 injured when a bomb exploded on a tourist bus at Bourgas airport, Bulgaria.
2012: Kim Jong-un was appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea.
2013: The city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy with debts of $18.5 billion.