The Rolling Stones performed the largest ever free concert in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. More than 1.3 million people attended the concert.

Chinese politician, Deng Xiaoping, died at the age of 92. He was the leader of the People's Republic of China from the late 1970's until his health started to deteriorated in the early 1990's. He is credited with instituting a wide range of reforms which helped push China towards economic growth as well as bringing traditional Chinese heritage back into society.

The Mir space station was launched by the Soviet Union. It was the first ever research orbital station in history.

Australian musician, Bon Scott, died at the age of 33. He was the lead singer of the AC/DC heavy metal rock band who died after a night of heavy drinking.

Italian footballer, Gianluca Zambrotta, was born in Como. He is one of the most respected Italian footballers of his generation, he signed with Barcelona FC after his previous team, Juventus, was implicated in a match fixing scandal for which that team was demoted to the second division in Italy.

American actor, Jeff Daniels, was born in Georgia, USA. He is most known for his role in the comedy, Dumb & Dumber.

The Battle of Iwo Jima began as more than 28,000 United States Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima. The battle has been immortalized due to a picture of United States soldiers raising the American flag over the island.

The Battle of Gallipoli started. It was fought during the course of the first world war, when French and English forces attempted to capture the ottoman capital city of Istanbul. The city was not captured and both sides suffered severe casualties.

American inventor, Thomas Edison, was awarded the patent for the phonograph. In its various forms the phonograph (gramophone) was the premier instrument for replaying recorded music up until the 1980's.

Bulgarian revolutionary, Vasil Levski, was executed at the age of 35. He is one of Bulgaria's greatest national heroes, who led the revolution of Bulgaria against Ottoman rule.

Prussian astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, was born in Torun (Poland). He was the first person to suggest the theory of the sun centred solar system. He is considered as the father of modern astronomy.