Reuters
1916 - British and French forces launched the Somme Offensive in World War One.
1917 - 50th anniversary of Confederation of Canada.
1942 - Sevastopol in Crimea fell to German forces after an eight-month siege.
1946 - The United States tested an atomic bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
1974 - Juan Peron, Argentine president and founder of the Peronist movement, died.
1997 - Robert Mitchum, U.S. movie star in films including "Cape Fear", "Ryan's Daughter" and "Night of the Hunter", died. He was 79.
1999 - Germany's parliament held its last session in Bonn before moving to Berlin.
1999 - Scotland opened its first parliament in nearly 300 years.
1999 - Joshua Nkomo died aged 83. He was Zimbabwe's veteran vice-president and a stalwart of its liberation struggle.
2000 - The longest cable-stayed bridge in the world was opened. The Oresund Bridge links Sweden and Denmark.
2004 - An Iraqi tribunal charged Saddam Hussein and 11 of his senior associates with crimes against humanity.
