1873    Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.

1878    Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule.

1925    During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.

1998    While ''en route'' from Adana to Ankara, a Turkish Airlines flight with a crew of 6 and 33 passengers is hijacked by a Kurdish militant who orders the pilot to fly to Switzerland. The plane instead lands in Ankara after the pilot tricked the hijacker into thinking that he is landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to refuel.