1632

Birth of English architect and mathematician Sir Christopher Wren (died 1723). He designed and built over 50 churches in London. His most famous designs are St Paul's Cathedral, Greenwich Hospital and the Pembroke College chapel at Cambridge university.

1728

A huge fire ravages Copenhagen, destroying most of the city.

1822

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper is first published.

1879

The governor of Cochinchina (South Viet Nam) approves the establishment of the Municipalite de Cho Lon (now part of HCM City).

1890

Death of Sir Richard Burton born 1821, the British scholar and explorer. He was the first European to locate Lake Tanganyika in Africa and he translated the Arabian Nights tales.

1891

Birth of Sir James Chadwick; the British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935 for his discovery of the neutron.

1898

Viet Nam's King Thanh Thai gives township status to Thanh Hoa in Thanh Hoa Province, Vinh in Nghe An, Hue in Thua Thien, Faifo (now Hoi An) in Quang Nam, Quy Nhon in Binh Dinh and Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan.

1930

Establishment of Viet Nam Anti-Imperialist Women's Association which then became the Viet Nam Women's Union in 1946. The first chairwoman was Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

1930

Birth of Vietnamese soldier-writer Nguyen Minh Chau (died 1989). His famous works include Co Lau (Reeds) and Dau Chan Nguoi Linh (Soldiers' Footsteps).

1950

Viet Nam's Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper is first published.

1991

An earthquake strikes the Himalayan foothills in India, killing at least 341 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes.

1995

Inauguration of the Viet Nam Women's Museum in Ha Noi.

2006

Nepal's government reverses decision to raise gasoline, diesel and cooking fuel prices after thousands of protesters clash with police, block traffic and vandalise government vehicles.

2008

A Spanish jetliner crashes during takeoff at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, killing 154 people.

2009

The US government branch that keeps world weather records says July is the hottest the world's oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping. The average water temperature worldwide was 62.6oC.

2010

Iranian and Russian nuclear technicians make final preparations to start up Iran's first reactor after years of delays, an operation that will mark a milestone in what Tehran considers its right to produce nuclear energy. — REUTERS/AP