1527. Spanish and German troops under Charlex V sacked Rome. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, died defending Pope Clement VII as he escaped into Castel Sant'Angelo.

1536. King Henry VIII orders a translated Bibles be placed in every church.

1857. The British East India Company disbanded the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose Sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the first martyr in the War of India's Independence.

1889. The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

1937. The German zeppelin Hindenberg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed.

1954. Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

1966. Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors Murders.

1994. Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand officiated at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

1997. The Bank of England was given independence from political control in the most radical shake-up in the bank's 300-year history.