1. 1556 - Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake
2. 1804 - The French civil code, Code Napoleon, is adopted
3. 1918 - The Germans launch the Somme offensive
4. 1960 - More than 50 Africans die and 169 are injured, as police open fire in the South African township of Sharpeville
5. 1965 - Martin Luther King, Jr. leads the start of a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
6. 1980 - President Carter tells Olympic athletes that the U.S. will be boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
7. 1980 - Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho is born
8. 1984 - UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher comes under attack for the breakdown of negotiations at the European Economic Community summit in Brussels
9. 1994 - Steven Spielberg wins his first two Oscars - Best Picture and Best Director for Schindler's List
10. 1999 - Ernie Wise dies
11. 2010 - China's state media attacks Google for having what it said were 'intricate ties' with the U.S. government
Source: BBC, Wikipedia, historyorb.com, infoplease.com, history.co.uk, brainyhistory.com, on-this-day.com
image: © Matthew Rutledge
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